where do we go from here 8:past mistakes
by zantha19
Summary: In a last ditch attempt to mend his friendship with Toph, Aang askes her to help him on a mission from the earth king. They have to find the escaped Long Feng. Forcing them to confront past mistakes they have both made. This is now being rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

**This is part 8 of the on going story. As always reading the 7 parts before this one isn't necessary, but it would help and it might even be fun. thanks for reading. All reviews are welcome, good or bad. **

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Aang landed Appa on the out-skirts of Omashu, just outside the grounds of the palace. It was the middle of the night, so he could enter the city without being seen. Once he landed himself on the ground, He patted Appa, pulled out his glider and took to the sky's again. As he got closer to the palace he started to skim the windows with his eyes, looking for any clue as to which one he wanted. He didn't have to look for long, when he got sight of it he knew it was her window, it was the only one that was opened fully. The only thing that surprised him was that it was on the top floor. When he was close enough he stretched out his legs to landed on the windowsill.

He held his breath as he landed, fearing giving himself away to soon. It had been just over half a year since Iroh had died. They where all still very raw over the whole thing. She he worried most of all. News of Zuko and Katara had reached him long ago, when he had first heard the news it had brought a faint, heart felt smile to his face. This had made him decided to up his efforts in being there for her, like he promised, Iroh, Zuko and himself he would be.

"What do you what." Her voice came out of the dark that filled the room and out towards the light that surrounded him on the windowsill. She was then out of her bed, and on the floor in front of him in one quick movement. She was wearing green silk pyjamas, that looked to be a few sizes to big for her. Her hair was completely down, he had never seen it like that before. Her face feel into a pool of light as she was able to set her useless eyes on his."You broke into my room in the middle of the night, and now you are just going to sit there. Say something!"

He finally realised she was taking to him. He had been caught in her gaze. "I didn't break in. You left the window wide open, that's not very safe you know, anyone could come in." He moved his legs into the room, feeling a little braver now.

"No only you." He wasn't sure, because as she spoke she leaned back and crossed her arms, falling back into the darkness, but he was sure he saw a smile on her face. The light, jokey tone of her voice also brought to his mind the expression of a smile on her face.

"I have a mission from the earth king, and I was sent to get you to help." Having learned form the last time they spoke, he realised that it was best to just get to the point as fast as possible.

A sly grin crossed her face "I'm intrigued, continue." She took one more step back, before she lowered herself to sit on the edge of her bed.

He had a feeling that she would be intrigued, by that. Now he just had tell her what was really going on. She wasn't going to be happy when he told her, but he knew he had to tell her. "Long Feng escaped, and we are going to find him, and bring him back." While he was speaking he never took his eyes of her, he was now able to make out the outline of her figure on the bed. This fact made him a little uneasy, he was grateful she wouldn't be able to see the blush that was creping across his face.

"And the earth king sent you to get me to help you." She now pulled herself up and moved to sit on the chair by the vanity, on Aang's right. She, like Aang knew was unable to see his face turn slightly red, but she could feel his heart beating a little faster.

There was something in her tone, she just didn't seem to believe what he was saying. "Yea..."

"Liar. You came to get me to help, because you thought it would help me, to get back at the guy that killed Jet. Am I right" He forgot she knew him so well. All he could do was nod. It was a rhetorical question, she didn't need any more than his nod as an answer. "I'll come. Go get Appa, then meet me in the grounds."

He was going to ask her, how she knew Appa was near by, but the look on her face told him he better go. Before he could really look at her face in the moonlight, to see how serious she was being, she turned away. Her hand reached out to pick up a ribbon from the vanity in front of her, which she used to tie her her up in a ponytail, leaving her bangs and some other shorter strands of hair falling down around her face. As if he wasn't there, she got to her feet and walked towards the wardrobe. It was like she was playing a game of chicken with him, seeing if he would leave before she stopped to tell him to leave. She pulled out some clothes, and to Aang it looked like she was about to turn round to face him. He leaned all the way back, falling backwards out the window. He had his glider in place before he reached the window on the ground floor.

Toph dressed quickly, into a pair of brown trousers, that she tucked into a pair of brown boots. She wore a yellow top that had white flowers beaded into it. A short brown jacket that was held in place by one large bottom at the centre of her chest. She finished the outfit of, with her grandfather's brown leather gauntlets around her wrists. She ran her fingers over the engravings on them, she had only wore them once, after Iroh gave them to her and that was only for a few minutes. Unknown to her or Aang at this moment, her outfit matched Aang's. The exact same colours.

Once she was ready slowly walked towards the window. She placed her hands on the windowsill, putting all of her weight onto them. A slight lop-sided grin appeared on her face, as the air moved a little fasted around her and the felling of movement, action, adrenaline built up in her. Using her legs Toph pushed herself through the window, flipping over so she was falling back first as she did. A few feet from the ground she finished the rotation, landing on her feet. True her exit may have been a little showy and unnecessary, but she it was just to good an opportunity for her to miss out on.

By the time she reached the garden, Aang and Appa where already waiting for her. Aang was standing in the saddle organising his pack. She bent a platform to reach the saddle. Aang reached out to offer her a hand onto the saddle, but she never saw this of course. When she stepped over to the saddle, her face came into contact with Aang's hand. His middle finger hit her in her right eye. She slightly feel the rest of the way onto the saddle and was just able to keep her balance. Her right hand was covering her eye, so Aang couldn't see if there was any really damage done. "Just because I don't use them doesn't mean I want to loss my eyes, or that it doesn't hurt when they get hit. twinkles."

"Sorry." His voice was muffled by his efforts to stop himself form laughing. Toph didn't see the grin on his face, but she could feel the shaking of his shoulders as he tried to control the laughter that was building up.

"What's so funny, your smiling too aren't you." Her left hand was now lifted, pointing towards Aang. He guessed she was aiming for his face, but her hand wasn't lifted high enough, she was pointing at his chest. He also guessed that she was pointing to his heart unintentional because that was were she got the best read of people.

Still with a grin on his face, he was able to stop the laughter and answer her question. "Sorry Toph, it's just...you called me twinkles." Toph finally lowered her right hand, she was unsure what to say next. His answer was not what she was expecting. "You haven't called me that in a long time, case you've been mad at me. That must mean you don't hate me." Toph was about to respond, to say something, but he spoke first. "Let me look at your eye." again he didn't give her the chance to say anything. He placed his left hand on the side of her face, tilting her head into the moon light,

He had never really looked into her eyes before, in fact he was only the third person to have really looked in her eyes. People tended to avoid looking at her eyes, they worried she would know and be offended. He like most people assumed her eyes where of a faded, milky green. Now that he looked into them he saw that they were really underneath a deep green, and this deep green peered through the jadedness of the rest of her eyes in some places. They where in fact the most beautiful unique eyes he had ever seen. He had got lost in them and only realised his hand was still on her face, when he felt her sifting her weight from one leg to the other. "It looks fine, we should get going." he sounded so rushed, Toph lowered her head. She had always been insecure about her eyes, that was why she tried to hide them under her hair, these insecurity's seemed to come rushing back to her now. Her eyes must be so strange and ugly for him to react the way he did.

Aang sat himself in his normal place, as he lifted the rains in his hands towards him he felt his elbow press against the two objects he had brought with him to give to Toph. He turned to look at her, when he did her eyes flashed in-front of his only for a second. After blinking a few times, he saw her sitting at the at the front of the saddle with her back to him. "Come on are we going or not."

"Yup yup"

they didn't speak, a comfortable silence surrounded them. Aang had forgotten what he wanted to give to Toph, he had been taken a little of guard with the image of her eyes. Now he remembered them, he thought now was as good a time as any. There was no way she would be able to avoid him here flying on Appa., she would have to listen to him, even if she didn't like it or want to say anything back. Though he couldn't rule-out the idea that if she really wanted to get away from him, she would just jump from Appa. Momo who had curled himself up on Aang's shoulder seemed to be incuraging him to get on with it, by gently patting him on the back with his tail. "Toph, can you come here for a minute."

He was facing out in front of them as he spoke, so his quiet voice was almost lost in the wind. Toph slowly and carefully pulled herself to her feet. Getting her balance she very carefully stepped out of the saddle and onto Appa's neck. Aang again held out his hand for her, but this time her indicated what he was doing by simply saying "Here." As he did. Toph had only held out her hand a few inches before Aang reached it, taking a strong hold and gently pulling her to set next to him. It was only with her sitting next to him know that he realised that she hadn't said anything to him. Normally she would have had some comment about being asked to clime onto Appa's head while he was flying or being asked to do anything really.

Taking a deep breath, as he pulled out the first thing he wanted to give to her from his Robe. "This is the letter I left in your room for everyone." Hen placed the letter in her hands, that were held in her lap, as she made no effort to take the letter herself. Momo now moved to sit in Toph's lap, nuzzling her hand that held the letter with his nose. She started to stroke Momo on the back on his head, as she turned to face Aang.

"Have the others read this."

"Yes." When he turned to face her, she was holding her arm out in-front of her, with the letter in her hand. Once he answered her question, she let the letter go, letting it float away into the air. Aang's eyes fallowed the letter till it floated through a clouded and was lost forever. Toph felt his eyes fall back on her, when the letter escaped his sight. She remained in a perfectly still position for a few seconds, before she spoke, still facing out in front of her where she had let the letter go.

"It doesn't matted what the letter says. The point is that you still took off, left us." his mouth opened to protest, but she continued. "What matters it that you left...but also that your here now. What you said before, that I must not hate you any-more...you have to know that I never hated you." This time when she stopped to take a breath, she was hoping he would say something, but he didn't. "Aang." Her voice was a little more stern now, forcing him to turn and look at her as she spoke, because now for his benefit she turned to face him. "You do now that right."

"I guess, but I wouldn't blame you if..."

"Stop being so self pitting. I don't hate you, I never did. I hated what you did...no I hated the way you went about what you did...but I know that you must have had a good reason, you would never do anything that would hurt someone on purpose." A sense of guilt was forming in the pit of the airbenders stomach. He was prepared to do what he had to to get Long Feng back, that didn't sound like the person she was talking about. "I was disappointed in you. It was like everything I thought I taught you was a waste of time."

"It wasn't. It was because of what I learned from you that I was able to face my responsibility as avatar and leave, and why I am going after Long Feng now. That's all down to you."

For a brief second a small smile creped across the teachers face, as a blush also coloured her checks, because of her students words. "I think there is a complement in there somewhere, that you learned to be stubborn because of me."

"With a sifu like you how could I not end up a little stubborn."

They didn't speak for the rest of the trip. Aang fearing the reaction the other thing he wanted to return to her might get, he kept in his robe pressed against his heart. There was still plenty of time to give it back to her, when she would maybe more willing to except it. He felt a pang of regret that she had not read the letter, he had wanted her so badly to read it. In the end it didn't matter, neither she nor any of the others hated him, and she was with him now, helping him in his next task. That was all that mattered now.


	2. Chapter 2

Even with Appa flying all day it was still a two day trip for omashu to Ba Sing Se. Aang and Toph had spent the one night of their journey camped out in a clearing near a lake. Aang had the strangest feeling that he had been there before. Toph was sure that she had never been to this place before. In his attempt to figure out when he had been to this place before, Aang ended up telling Toph a few stories of his Katara and Sokka's journey before she joined them. She had been very interested in the story about when Katara had stolen a scroll from a bunch of pirates, that just didn't sound like the Katara she knew.

Feeling that the ice had been broken, that he could really talk to her Aang dared to ask her about what she had been doing recently. After a short pause she told him in great detail about her new batch of students at her academy. This wasn't what he had meant, but he still listened intently. His mind did wonder though, he worried that the way she spoke about some of her less able students was the way she had or still did speak about him as a student. He had really tried to work on his earthbending recently, knowing it was his weakest element. He still knew though that he would still be seen as a wimpy airhead by Toph no matter what he did.

Toph had then told him all that she knew about Zuko and Katara getting together. She did this because she wanted to know how he felt about all of that. She knew that if she just asked him out right, he would smile, a smile that was wasted on her and say that he was fine. His heart rate would give him away, but she was sure he would know that she was looking for that to get his real feeling on the matter. This way he wouldn't be as aware she was reading him so closely. To her relief she found that he really was ok with it all, his heart remained even and steady.

For the first time that Aang travelled with Toph and slept out in the open, she didn't bend a earth tent to sleep in. she just gave a nodded in respond to what he was saying, then laid down on the earth turning over so her back was to him. Aang remained in a cross-legged position for a few minutes, before he crawled over to his sleeping bag and went to sleep too.

When he woke in the morning he found that he had rolled about in his sleep, and was now a few inches from the back of Toph's head. He was just able to wake fully, forcing himself to sit up before Toph started to wake too. He quickly got to his and started to pack there stuff away. He was mumbling something about if they left now they might be able to make it to Ba Sing Se by the end of the day if Appa wasn't to tired.

True to his guess Appa was able to get the two travellers to Ba Sing Se just before the sun was about to start setting. The earth king had just finished his dinner and was hearing his schedule for the next day, when he was informed the avatar had returned. He wasn't informed of Toph's presence as she had told the guards at the door not to say anything. Aang had found this a little odd, but he just assumed she wanted to surprise the earth king.

"Your highness the avatar." The servant who introduced Aang bowed as he did. He wasn't sure if it was meant for him or the earth king. There was so much about high society rules that he didn't understand, he would have to ask Toph to teach him about it at some point.

"Ah avatar I see you got..." It was at point that he saw Toph. She had been slowly keeping a pace behind Aang, trying to make sure she wasn't seen for as long as possible.

"Hey Kingie. I bet you didn't think I would be here, or you wished I wouldn't." She now moved in front of Aang. Who was at a total loss as to what was going on. The tone in her voice was one that he recognised very well. It was the one she used the first time spoke to her, as the blind bandit in- front of a crowed that wanted to see them fight. It was her teasing, trash talking tone. Not the kind of tone you would use with a king.

"General Toph." You could almost taste the distain in his voice.

The kings words just raised more questions, confusing him even more. Since when had Toph been part of the earth kingdom military, and how did she advance so fast "General." His voice was so low he wasn't sure if the general or King had heard him.

Toph moved to the king sitting on his throne, leaning on the right side as she spoke "Do you what to tell him, or will I just give the short answer." Her words came through her huge grin. Whatever was going on Aang knew one thing for sure, Toph was having a lot of fun holding it over the earth king.

The earth king let out a sigh, as he was forced to tell Aang what was going on. He knew that if he let Toph tell him the short answer he would only have more questions, and they would take longer than was necessary to get it out in the open. "When you first came to Ba sing Se, lady Bei Fong was made an official privet in the army." Aang cast a quick glance towards Toph, who was still leaning against the throne with her arms crossed. He was sure as he did this that he saw a frown wash over her face at the use of another of her titles. "Then as a result of her actions keeping you hidden before the day of black sun, she was made a sergeant. As a result of her actions on that day, and after she was given the title of lieutenant. Then after the final battle major, and with all the work she had done in the years after the war she was made general two years ago"

"When I was fifth-teen. Making me the youngest ever general." Toph was taking a lot of joy in tormenting the earth king. It was clear there was some thing else going on. Toph had never taking any pleasure in any of the titles she had gained over the years. She practically had to be begged to take the title of earth kingdom ambassador. She had also order to stop calling her Sifu Toph after only four days, or she would bury him up to his nose, avatar or not.

Though what the earth king had told him did explain what was going, Aang did have one question . Something that he didn't fully understand. "What do you mean keeping me hidden."

"It was her first official mission to keep you hidden, while you travelled to the fire nation and till the day of black sun. it was a simple enough task, except for one report of holding off a group of fire nation solders near an factory of some kind."

Aang turned to look at Toph, she looked like the Toph he had always know. A little taller and grown up maybe, but stil the same. It just felt like now he was seeing her in a very different way. She didn't seem to be the same person. He also couldn't understand how something like that could have been going on and he had no idea about it, what kind of a friend was he. True he had a world to save, but he felt he should have been more aware of what was going with the friends he had dragged into all of this. As if she was reading his mind she answered his question, trying ease his guilt. "I hid it from you, all of you. It was essay, you where busy worrying about Katara being the painted lady to notice what I was doing, made my job a lot essayer too."

Aang felt the pang of guilt growing in the pit of his stomach. He never realised who much she had done for him, and he never noticed. He took it for granted, and she never held it agents him. He also knew she wouldn't want him to bring it up now or at any point really. She did what she did, because she felt it was the right thing to do, she saw no need to be thanked for that. He realised he would just have to say thank you in a different way, however he had no idea what that should be. Looking for something, anything to say next to fill the silence he worried that would start to grow, he asked another question. "If she's a general, they why wouldn't you want her here to help. Why do you seem unhappy to see her."

"I'll answer this one." Toph cut the king off before he even had the chance to open his mouth. "Long Feng has a family. His son was in the army, he lost his leg in the final battle. So his sister, Long Feng's daughter had to get married, so there would be a man around to keep the family business going. She is about to have her first child. Long Feng's first grandchild, and I think he should be aloud to go home to his family." Her head turned from facing the direction Aang was standing in, to lowering down to face the king on his throne. "With the understanding that he will be watched, and if he puts even one toe out of line he will be but back in prison, or if I find out I will crush him." Her tone sounded so harsh, Aang was glad she wasn't facing him when she used it. He also knew that she would carry out her threat without hesitating.

Aang wasn't sure what he was more shocked about, seeing Long Feng in a more human light, or the fact that Toph was the one standing up for him. He was the one how killed Jet, he couldn't understand why Toph of all people would be fighting his corner like this. Toph had fought Jet's corner when had offered them his help, she believed him when no one else did. The freedom fighter and the lady had bounded over the day that they spent together. They were a lot alike, Aang had seen that right from the start. He would also be lying if he say that he hadn't been a little worried about the two of them spending time together. Toph was the least law abiding, moral member of the group, Jet was very similar they could very essay come up with a plan to help, that would make him feel morally uncomfortable.

"He is a war criminal. He doesn't deserve a second chance." The earth kings outburst had pulled Aang out of his own thoughts. Aang had never seen, or heard the earth king so angry. He couldn't help but agree with him, no matter the way he voiced hid opinion.

"You are just sore the he tricked you for so long." Again Aang couldn't help but agree. Toph did have a good point. The strength of the earth kings feeling on the subject were clearly strengthened by his personal resentment. He didn't have a come back. She had verbally beaten him, but that wasn't the end of it. The earth king was never going to change his mind and his word was law. The problem was Toph was also never going to change her mind. They were stuck in a stale mate, Aang would have to be the deciding vote in this matter. That was if figure out what was the right thing to do.

Aang was reminded of when Zuko had asked for a second chance, Toph had been the only one to see the bigger picture. Because of her sight she was totally unbiased. It was hard to be when she could see, the bad selfishness in people that you know are doing the right thing, but for the wrong reasons or seeing good reasons behind someone doing the wrong thing, but for the right reasons. It had worked out with Zuko and Jet, so maybe he should trust her on this one too. That might be how he could say thank you to her by taking her side, supporting her. The problem was he couldn't , never would be able to see Long Feng as anything other than a murder. He had to bring him back. Even if it meant going agents Toph. He hated that he was making it harder for them to be friends again, but he had to do what he felt was the right thing. She would at the very least now that, that to her he was doing the wrong thing, but for the right reasons. Then maybe she wouldn't hate him, for real this time.

"I'll bring him back!" he was forced yelling, to be heard over their arguing that had been going on while he had been thinking. Toph gave him a look of disgust and was moving towards the door before he could say anything else. As she passed him, Aang was sure he heard her say under her breath. "I thought you would understand" but he couldn't be sure, and he did understand. He just couldn't go along with what she wanted to do about the problem. Aang lifted his head to meat the earth kings. Giving him a look that said I hope you understand what I have just done to help you, before he too left the throne room.


	3. Chapter 3

Toph was walking through the streets of Ba sing se, and getting a lot of odd looks and hearing a look of whispers about herself. "Is that her." she lowered her head a little, trying to stop as many people from recognizing her. "She is smaller then I thought she would be." needless to say it wasn't working. It always amazed her how many people were able to recognise her, she had no idea how that was even possible. "She is quit pretty." None of this though was new to her, she was a recognisable person after all. Being the avatars earthbending sifu would do that. She never understood how Sokka could enjoy this kind of attention so much.

She didn't really know where she was going, but her feet seemed to carry her down a familiar route. She was walking along a long street with large villas running down each side, in the upper ring of the city. The air sweeping past her, almost pulling her hair from the lose ponytail it was held in, made the area she was walking through so different from the last time she was here.

"_So...are you sure we haven't over done it, this isn't to much food." He was clearly lost for anything to say. They had been walking in silence since they left the shop with the food. Toph and Jet had been sent to get food for everyone. Toph had volunteered to go because she wanted to get out of the house and Jet volunteered because he wanted to get away from all of their questions. He also wanted to get to know Toph better, she seemed interesting. _

"_Y__ou have eaten with Sokka before." The tone she spoke with told him she was feeling a little more comfortable with the situation than he was. _

"_Y__eah maybe we should go back, and get some more." His very poor attempt at a joke, lighting the mood, seemed so bad to him he wanted to kick himself. _

_Toph didn't seem to find it as bad as he thought it was. For the first time in a long time Toph smiled. It was faint and only appeared from a split-second, but it was still a smile. "Don't worry he can stand to diet a little." Her bun was starting to come undone a little, more of her hair was falling down around her face. As she spoke she pulled it behind her ear. _

_This caught Jet's attention a little. He had been trying to look her over properly the whole time they had been running their eroded, he now finally felt brave enough to do I and to try and speak again._ "_S__o…Fong..."_

"_Toph, my name is Toph….Bei Fong." Her eyes seemed to be set on him, but they only stayed that way from a second at most. Once he had seen her eyes, he was trying to suitable see them again. In the back of his head he knew he could just look her right in the eyes and she would never know, but he was still unsure about how much if anything she could see or was aware off. _

"_S__orry. Wait you mean the Bei Fong, Bei Fong's." Everyone in the earth kingdom knew who the Bei Fong family were, they were the richest family in the earth kingdom maybe the world after all. He stopped in his tracks while he spoke. Toph kept walking in-front of him, not wanting to talk about this subject. _

"_A__fraid so." she was still not used to the reaction her full name had on people. Once she was done talking she stopped and turned to face him. As she turned more of her hair feel from the bun. Katara had lost a lot of the hair pins she normally used to keep her bun up, after she did her hair for the party at the palace the night before. Soon she would have to start wearing her hair down. _

_Jet was a little surprised by the way she looked as she turned to face him, hair falling over her shoulder and the sun shinning behind her head. She looked pretty, right now it was not hard to imagine her being the daughter of the wealthiest family in the world. _"_I didn't know they had a daughter." She was still dressed in baggy, ill fitting clothes making her look shorter and younger than she was, so it was still a little hard to fully believe. _

"_T__hen their plan worked. They kept me hidden. For my own good." she was surprised how calm her voice was when she said this, though disdain crept into her voice. "Don't you dare say sorry again. I hate that word it means nothing." She turned on him so quickly, it was like she was a different person. _

_He knew that he had said the wrong thing, or used the wrong tone, and know she was angry with him. At the very least she was irritated with him. Most guys would have taken this as strong hint, been scared off and either kept quite or left all together. Jet however wasn't like most guys, he didn't let this set back stop him "So you're like fourteen..."_

"_T__hirteen." he knew asking about her age was a stupid thing to do. He just couldn't think of anything else to say. She some how had rendered him incapable of thinking clearly. He also knew, now that he looked at her fully that she couldn't be fourteen yet. _

"_Y__ou seemed older…personality wise, you don't look. I'll be quit now." His head, that he been held slightly higher so he could look her in the face, now feel. Looking her over as he did. He was sure she was much skinnier than her clothes let on. _

"_D__on't do that. You still have my weight, height, and being blind to but your foot in about." With a faint smile on her face again she turned back and started to walk back towards the villa again. Jet tightened his grip on the shopping he was caring and run after her a little till he caught up to her. _

_He walked along by her side for a little while, till his big mouth opened without thinking._"_W__hen is your birthday." This was a dump question, but it was the most normal one he could think of at the moment. He looked over at her, he was at least a head taller than her so he had to look down at her. He saw that more of her hair was coming out of the bun than he first thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her bite her lip a little. _

"_I was thirteen, about eight days ago." her voice sound so flat, so matter of act about it, like her birthday really didn't matter to her. She would never admit it, but her last birthday, any birthday in fact, was a painful memory for her. The day they reached the library. The day Appa was stolen, and Aang blamed her. That was her birthday. Her eyes were now drifting around the area in-front of her, avoiding the area to her right were Jet was. _

_He wasn't the most empathetic person, but Jet knew that it wasn't a good idea to talk about her birthday any-more. So he decided to chance the subject dramatically. It was a risk, but it could be worth it._"_W__hen are you going to tell them." He once again stopped in his tracks as she walked on in-front of him. He waited for her to stop and turn to face him, not that facing him made any real difference to her. He waited for her a little longer than he expected he would have to, and longer than he had for any other girl. _

"_H__ow did you know, they didn't know about my birthday." Toph was not used to being the one that people can see right throw. He was the first person to ever do that, it made her feel very uncomfortable. She hoped that her voice had come out more forceful than she heard it in her own head. The way she felt his heart rate relax more than it had been the whole shopping trip, let her know that, that was not the case. _

"_I didn't."slowly and purposelessly Jet walked the couple of feet that had separated them. "I meant when are going to tell them you are staying here..." To Jet it was so obvious that she felt like she didn't belong with Aang and the others any more. she had done her job, now she had to find her place in the world. The problem was that she was a very loyal person, especially to people that she felt she owed a lot to. Aang had given her, her freedom, to Toph that meant she owed him a lot._

"_W__hat makes you think you know what I'm going to do or I want to do. I hate it here."The last part she yelled a little, She had never made it a secret that she hated this city. Too many walls, rules, and people manipulating you. it was to like her parent's house. _

_She could feel anger building up, making her clenched hands shake a little. No one had ever got her so worked up before. He just seemed to know the right thing to say to annoy her. She had found his attempt at making conversion funny at first, as he was so bad at it, then he just seemed to catch onto what would annoy her and ran with it. Jet had seemed interesting, like he would be fun to talk to, mainly because he was able to wind Katara up more than she had ever known her to get before. Now she was regretting standing up for him. He must have a cheesy grin plastered on his face, she __really wanted to wipe it off. _

"_J__ust a guess, and I never said you had to stay here." He was now standing right in-front of her, looking down at the top of her head. _

_There was something in his tone that made her stomach flutter. _"_A__re you asking me to join your freedom fighters." Her head was now tilted up to face him. For some reason she felt it was important for him to be able to see her eyes. She had never purposely allowed anyone to really look at her eyes, she worried about how they must look. They must look so different from everyone else's, they would give away her blindness and make the person feel uncomfortable. His tone also made her forget all about that, knowing he would not feel uncomfortable looking at her eyes so closely. _

"_Y__eah I' am. An earthbender would be a great addition to the team." It was lost on her, but he gave her the same charming look he used on Katara. She did feel his heart rate speed up a little. She had never had that affect on anyone before, except in fear when she was earthbending. A part of Toph wanted to turn and run away as fast as she could, but something kept her rooted to the spot. This had been such a turn around from the way the conversation started, she had no idea were it was going to go. The idea of joining the freedom fighters did appeal to her, a lot. She would really miss the others of course she would, but she had to find her place in all of this. And maybe it wasn't with Aang and the others. _

"_W__ould I have to have a nickname." She tried to keep her voice as even as she could, but she couldn't help it getting a little high. _

"_Y__es you would, and it cant be the blind bandit." He had enjoyed the feeling of having that over her, but it had to come out at some point. After he had meet Aang and the others, Jet and the rest of his gang had done a little travelling. Travelling that had included the north west of the earth kingdom, where Toph lived. While they had been passing through, they had taken a little entertainment courtesy of the earth rumble tournament. In fact he had been to Toph's penultimate tournament, Aang and the others had been to at her next and last one. "You where my favourite." Jet lowered his head whispering into her ear when he said this._

_Toph choice to let that go, as she took a step back, crossing her arms. "So…..what would it be." He had seen her give him a sort of smirk or a half smile already, but even though now she was giving him a taunting grin it was still the closest to a real smile he had seen from her. Her whole face seemed to have been lit up, her eyes looked so bright. It may not have seemed like it, but Jet had been thinking very carefully about everything that he said before he said it. Now he choice to just stop thinking so much, and go with his gut. _

"_P__etal." _

"_P__etal" He seemed to have just picked the nickname out of nowhere. If Toph hadn't been able to read him so well, she would have been sure he picked that nickname just to annoy her even more. _

_Without really knowing he was doing it, Jet took a step closer to her. Filling the small gap between them._"_I__t's perfect. Your little and fragile looking... pretty, but you are a force to be reckoned with." despite how fast he had come up with the name, he had put a lot of thought into it. He had been thinking about it more or less since he first meet her. There was just something in her eyes, the way she acted, that told him she was being held back. That she wanted more, to really feel like she was doing something that she felt a part of. _

"_I like it." she really meant it. For whatever reason she did like it. Her voice had been low as she had lowered her head "So what is your real name." She really wasn't trying to annoy him, but she felt she owed him. If he was able to asker the kind of questions that the others had never asked her, then she would do the same, if he was able to see through her, she would show him, that she could see right through him as well. No one had ever asked Jet that before, they knew better. " When you told me your name there was no chance in your heart rate. Normally there is family history and all that, that means something, but with you. it's like your naming an object." _

_This was Jet's first encounter with someone that could read him like a book. It scared him a little, but in the end it just made Toph seem all the more interesting. _"_I can't tell you." he knew that Toph was a fine one to talk about feeling detached from her family, but he didn't feel like bring that up. _

"_W__hy dose that not surprises me." It almost made him laugh that while she spoke she rolled her eyes, in a very odd way. _

_Again Jet lowered his head closer to Toph's. _"_W__hy do I get the feeling that not a lot dose surprises you." The words just seemed to be tumbling out now, he should have just tried going with his gut in the first place, instead of wasting so much time. _

"_N__o, not just a lot, nothing ever surprises me. Ever." Normally her voice saying something like that would come out more forcefully, but now it was more like she was goading him to say, or do something to surprise her. When he didn't say or do anything, she almost spun on her heels, turned and started to walk away. _

_Jet's heart was starting to race. His head was telling him to do one thing, quietly walk back with her. His gut was telling to do something very different. "Toph." He chose a third option. Wanting to keep talking to her, but not wanting to rush into anything he could mess up, it seemed the safest option. _

_Hearing her name, Toph turned back. She didn't move, he was made to walk over to her "Toph, I..." He couldn't think of anything to say at all. Toph gave him a faint, crocked smile. She then took him completely by surprise. She moved closer to him, got onto her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. She moved back, turning to walk away but, Jet used his free hand to take hold of her by the wrist. He pulled her back to him, kissing her on the lips. Again she surprised him, she didn't pull away, she let him kiss her. _

_Toph was for the first time in her life total surprised. _"_Y__ou think I'm pretty, you like me." Her tone was in a soft sing song voice. Teasing was her default setting when it came to dealing with most situation, especially situations she wasn't used to. _

"_Y__eah I do." This time when Jet leaned in towards her, he let the bag of shopping drop, as he moved his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. _

"Toph…don't be mad at me." She turned round to face Aang as he landed his guilder. It was now clear why the wind had picked up so suddenly. There was a look in her eyes that Aang had only seen once before, when she was trying not to cry as Iroh was dyeing. Like the rest of the group Aang had known that Toph and Jet had been close, he didn't know how close though. That was why he was so shocked and unset to see that look in her eyes.

"Are we going now." Her voice was so unemotional, it made her eyes that looked like they were about to over flow with emotion all the more striking.

"Yeah." He had expected her to shout, but it was as if her mind was somewhere else. He finally took his eyes off her, and looked round. He was so sure this street was the same one the villa they stayed in had been on, when they strayed her four and a half years ago. When he looked back at her she was walking past him, back to the palace. He wanted to say something to her, so she knew he understood why she felt the way she did, but that he couldn't change his mind either.

As long as their paths right now were heading in the same direction, towards Long Feng, they would work together. When they found him, he didn't know what would happen. She was the most stubborn person he had ever know, she would never back down even if she was proven to be wrong, she would still keep fighting. He was now, thanks to her a little like that. There next fight, was going to be a big one.

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. I would like to know what you think about the whole Toph Jet thing. I thought it would be an interesting thing to add, to give more depth to this part of the story, but dose it work. **


	4. Chapter 4

Aang and Toph resumed their previous potions on Appa's saddle. As they headed north, going back the way they had came. Long Feng's family lived in the north west of the earth kingdom, so he would mostly be heading in that direction. Toph never said anything, but she found the fact they had to go back some of the way they had just come very annoying. If it had been up to her they would have just gone straight to the north east, instead of having to make the needless detour to Ba Sing Se. They hadn't spoken the whole trip. Aang was sure Toph wasn't angry at him, worse she was disappointed in him and he didn't know what he could do to chance that.

"We should land soon, Appa's getting tired." Aang turned to look at Toph. Even though she had spoken she wasn't looking at him. Her back was facing him, as she tightened the gauntlets on her wrists. Her wrists where much smaller than her grandfathers had been, so they kept almost slipping off.

"How do you know, he will be fine for a bit longer." He didn't know why his voice came out sounding so harsh, he really wasn't angry with her.

Her hair had long since fallen out of it's pony-tail, due to the strong wind. So as she turned round in the saddle to face Aang finally it blow across her face. "His heart is sixty times bigger than yours, and I can pick up on the slightest chance in that. Plus we are looking for an earthbender in the sky doesn't that seem a little odd to you." While she spoke she pulled her hair back out of her face, it was really starting to irritate her now.

Aang felt the chance her voice, so he turned round to look at her again. Seeing her fighting with her hair, almost made him burst into laughter. He was only able to stop himself, because he started to notice that Appa was in fact slowing down a little. Not wanting to give Toph the satisfaction of being right and having to admit it, Aang subtly guided Appa to begin his descent.

"Told ya." Her voice though muffled a little by the wind, still came out loud and clear as she intended. Aang could just picture the evil grin that was obviously on her face now. She really had a knack for winding him up, in such a way that would just stay with him for ages.

They landed at a village, half way towards their destination. They were able to find rooms at an inn, without to many people noticing them. To Toph's joy. Aang had pulled on a cloak to hide his tattoos, and Toph was able to hide behind her hair. They did get a few odd looks from the inn owner. He kept trying to look at Toph through her hair while he was talking to Aang about the room keys. He had been trying to do it discreetly, but Aang caught him. He moved in-front of her to block her from the intense staring. Then when they were able to leave, he dared to put a hand on her back and gently push her out of the reception and down the corridor of rooms, only removing his hand when they reached the first of the two rooms they had paid for.

It was late when they arrived, so they planned to go straight to sleep. After all, tomorrow would be a busy day. If they made good time they could get most of the rest of their journey completed in one day. Aang tried to meditate, helping him get his mind around everything that had happened that day and would happen tomorrow. It was the look in Toph's eye that he couldn't get out of his mind. Unfortunately it wasn't the image of how pretty they looked when he saw them two nights ago, it was the way they looked that morning in the throne room of the earth kings palace. He had never seen eyes look that disappointed.

Toph couldn't sleep, either. The gauntlets where rubbing her wrists, but she didn't want to take them off. She had been avoiding thinking about it all day, but she couldn't keep it up any longer. She tried to remember what that kiss, her first kiss had been like. She couldn't remember it clearly though, her mind would only let her think about her kiss with Zuko, her second kiss. Right now she had never hated the fire lord more. Fearing she would smash up the room if she stayed, she left to get some fresh air.

She sat herself on the porch outside the inn. The nights where getting colder as the summer vanished and the fall started to take hold, it would be her birthday again soon. She never told anyone else about the first birthday she spent with the gang, especially not Aang. He would beat himself up about it. Now that she thought about it he had never apologized for yelling at her like that. They all knew when her birthday was now, if they wanted to they could figure it out themselves, she wasn't going to say anything about it, even if it meant she would get a sorry from Aang. She had taken off her boots, when she had tried to sleep and was now able to hear his footsteps coming towards her like a drum in her ears.

"You've gotten heavier over the years." Even though she was joking about it, it did upset her. She always thought Aang would never let the weight of the world get to him, but it had. She felt she should take some responsibility for that. Her ignoring him for almost a year couldn't have helped. It was hard for her though to think that he would care, be so affected by what she did or in this case didn't do

He didn't say anything at first, he just sat next to her. "I'll take that to be a complement, that I have bulked up over the years. That I'm now a big strong,..."

"Don't make me laugh." Despite her words, she let out a faint laugh. She had completely forgotten how much of a idiot Aang could be, and how much he could make her laugh.

The moon creped out from behind a cloud, bathing the two friends in a pool of moon light for a few seconds. Aang was about to say something about what they had been so careful not to say anything about, the purpose for their trip. When he turned to face Toph he caught sight of something shinning around Toph's ankle. It was the ankle bracelet she always wore. It had been a wedding present, for her almost wedding to Zuko.

"When did you get a chakra bracelet."

Toph lifted her sightless gaze from the earth in-front of her, to face Aang. "What are you talking about." The look of confusion on her face almost made Aang laugh, he never got to see her looking unsure of herself, and what was going on. He would have to make sure he kept a mental picture of her face now, he never knew if he would get the chance to see it again and be the case of it as well.

Aang lifted his right hand to point to the object he was talking about "The one on your ankle, it's a chakra bracelet. The seven beads represents the seven chakras." Aang himself had one he wore tied around his right wrist. He had found it while he was travelling after the war, in the northern air temple.

"Urse gave it to me, as a wedding present. My mother made it for her, as a wedding present. I didn't know it had anything to do with charka." Her voice that had started off sounding normal despite the situation between them, but now it was so flat. It frightened Aang to here her voice chance so much, so suddenly.

Aang already knew about Toph's birth mother, Katara had told him. She told him after Toph had run off after Iroh's funeral. He wasn't meant to know, so he wasn't about to let on that he did. He was a little glad that she had even slightly alluded to it. Maybe this meant she was no longer disappointed with him. Deep down though he knew that wasn't the case. He wanted to say something, anything really. Tell her that he knew, and he was very sorry. He knew what she would say to that, her hatred of that word, so he kept quite.

While he couldn't say anything, he could comfort her in other ways, his hand was about to lift up, to place over hers when she spoke again. "I know you know, Katara couldn't lie to me forever." She wasn't angry. She had been angry, very angry when she found out that Katara knew, and that she had told Aang. Now she was over it. There was no point wasting time on something she couldn't change.

He didn't know what to say to that, he had never expected that she would know, he knew. He wanted now more than ever to say something, pull her into a hug and just be there for her. She would tell him to shut up if he said anything, and pull away, if he tried to hug her. He had to do something though. Again however her words were fasted than his actions. Not wanting to give him the chance to say anything, Toph spoke first. Changing the subject completely. "Why don't you trust me."

"I do trust you."

He answered her question so fast, she didn't find it hard to not believe him. It was like a gut reaction, like he didn't have to think about the answer. He just said what he knew she would want to here. "No you don't, not really." Her voice was calm and controlled. He was completely silenced by it. "You didn't trust me about Zuko or Jet. You didn't trust me after the war to help you, to tell me to my face what you were doing. When it really mattered you didn't trust me."

He wished she would yell at him. That would be easer to deal with, rather than this eerie calm. He also wished she didn't trust him so much, because it hurt her when he let her down. If she hated him it would be better for her. He would be upset, but if she was happy then he would learn to deal with it. She felt obligated to him for something that seemed so small to him, but was so important to her. He felt like he was talking advancing of her loyalty and her desire to have her freedom, for his own benefit. Toph never seemed like someone that could be control, manipulated so easily, and he never thought he was the kind of person that would do that use people like that, but that was how it looked to him now.

He reached out, took hold of her hand, before she could pull away. He forced her palm onto the wooden floor between them."I trust you with my life, now tell me I'm lying." His voice had never sounded so forceful to her before. He didn't know why he did what he did really, he just had to do something. He wanted to make her feel better, but didn't know how.

"Your not, but you still don't trust be about Long Feng do you. " They had been dancing around this subject during the whole conversation. Toph was getting tiered of ignoring the obvious. They would have to talk about this at some point. They couldn't just leave this conversation till they had caught him, and have it in-front of him. It needed to be dealt with soon, and now was as good a time as any.

He let her hand go. Feeling like he shouldn't be touching her right now. it felt like she was this beautiful princess, and he was a evil guy that had manipulated her feeling, so he could gain power. He was sure he had heard a story like that before. "I just cant see him as anything other than a killer, but I need your help to find him" His eyes had been set on her hand, now they drifted up her arm to her face. "So I promise when we find him we'll make a decision together." He looked her right in the eye as he made his promise.

She knew she couldn't ask for any more from him right now. She also knew he was not going to change his mind, neither was she. They were going to clash over this again, and it would be much worse then, but for now she just nodded and agreed to the truce. "Ok." She got up to leave, placing her hand on Aang's shoulder to help her to stand up. They both knew she didn't need to do this, it was just her way of giving him a little reassurance. Like he wanted to do, when he held her hand. "Night. " she didn't turn to face him when she said that, and he didn't turn to look at her.

He watched her leave. If he was honest, he was glad she had left. He didn't know how long he would have been able to stay with her, without saying something that would annoy and start the argument all over again. It had always been so easy for him to be able to talk to Toph, he hated that it changed, that it was now so hard. He pulled something off the sash he wore. It was Toph's grand master bracelet. Then one he made for her, over four years ago. She had thrown it back at him a year ago when they meet again, after three years without seeing each other. He was going to give it back to her by the end of the mission. Like he had planed from the start. It was holding her right wrist, where she used to wear it, that reminded him about it. He ran his thumb over the jade stone attached to the bracelet, as looked up at the few stars he could see. He wondered if his pride was with this.

As Top lay on the bed, in her room she pulled her knees into her chest. She held onto the ankle bracelet. Moving her finger over the yin yang pendent. She now had even more questions about her mother, and no way to know the answers. She also had a lot of questions about what she was doing now, if it was the right thing, if her reasons fro doing it were the best ones.

**Thank you for reading, let me know what you think. **


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was in the sky, no clouds, but the air was still cold, when Aang was starting to wake up. It had taken him a long time to be able to get to sleep the night before, his mind had just simply refused to let him have any rest at all. He was about to drift back of to what he felt was a well deserved sleep again, when his bed suddenly took on a life of it's own and tipped to the left. Taking the the very tired and only party awake avatar with it.

"Now your up we can get going." This loud unfamiliar voice drew Aang's attention to the open door to his room, he was very sure he had locked the door before he went to sleep. So it seemed there would be no pretences of normal society conduct on this trip, it would be just like it was almost five years ago. Her voice was eerie sweet, he was worried he had been wrong. This couldn't be Toph.

When his eyes were able to focus, he was able to make out the figure at the door, now leaning on the door frame with crossed arms. A position he remembered her taking before, when they first meet. The voice aside it was differently Toph he was looking at. "Was that really necessary." Aang pulled himself up, rubbing his extremely sore head.

"No. Just fun." She now smiled at his general direction sweetly. Compared to some of the ways she had used earthbending to wake Sokka up, when they where travelling, Aang had gotten off very lightly in comparison.

"You need to give me a list of what you can bend now. So I can avoided all of them." Now fully on his feet, Aang was sure the room was spinning, that wasn't a good sign he was sure.

"Just don't touch anything solid and you should be fine." Aang was about to let out a laugh at Toph's joke, then is dawned on him. He wasn't so she was joking, or over exaggerating. Momo had noticed Toph entering the room, and had instantly gone to meet her. He now rested on her right shoulder. Aang had thought it was sweet how much Momo liked Toph, she was the only other person that he was as comfortable with as he as with Aang. Now with what in his spinning head looked like a two headed creature mocking him, he wasn't so sure it was sweet after all. "If we want to get there by tomorrow at the latest, we need to leave now." With that she left, as quickly as she arrived. Momo still on her shoulder. Her sudden change, from mocking him to ordering him was a little to much for the young airbender to proses, with a spinning head.

Aang dressed and packed as quickly as he could. He found himself almost running to meet up with Toph. When he found her, Toph was waiting for him. She was sitting on the front steps, the same way she had been sitting last night. Her legs were even pulled into her chest the same way. The only difference was Momo, who was still sitting on her shoulder.

"About time." She got to her feet, in one quick move turning to face him as she stood on the earth. As she did this she bent some dirt from the ground into the pouch that was tied to her waist. Then started to walk away, Momo still very much attached. Aang had never seen her, or anyone bend dirt like that before. So it took him a little while to realise that she was walking in the opposite direction to where Appa had been left to rest and moving rather fast.

"Hey Toph. you're going the wrong way." He found he had to yell, as she seemed to be picking up her pace, getting further away. Still though he didn't move from the bottom step, to catch up to her.

"No I'm not." Her voice was so high, in a sing song tone, it was almost as eerie as the sickeningly sweet voice she used after she had thrown him from his bed. _What!_ He finally started to realise what was going on, and ran after her to catch up. By the time he was by her side, he was a little out of breath. He hadn't been doing that much running over the last few years, physical he must be a little out of shape. Hopefully there would be no more running, he doubted that though with Toph seemingly taking charge. Before he could get his breath back to say anything she answered his internal question "We are going to a village, less than half a days walk this way. There is someone there, that I think will be able to help us."

"Why don't we just fly on Appa." He was having a little bit of a hard time keeping up with her, and keeping his breathing steady. He knew that she would pick up on that, so it was as if she was trying to get away from him. With the way she had woken him up that morning, with all the teasing he had started to believe that maybe they were on the same side now. That he realised was a stupid way of looking at the situation, there were no sides, Toph was also the last person that would take sides any way. No one was going to win in this, no one.

"Appa should rest, and I am sick of flying." She finally started to slow down a little, letting Aang walk at her pace. The way she was ordering him around, taking charge, he couldn't understand why he had found it so hard to imagine her as a general in the earth kingdom army. She fit the role so perfectly.

"I guess, but..."

"You are out of breath after just running to catch up with me, you could use a like exercise. You need to get back in shape." Now they were walking side by side, Momo took the chance to jump from Toph's shoulder to Aang's. He could tell that something was about to happen, and there was a good feeling Toph was going to be the one to start it, he just wanted to be in a safer place.

Even though Aang been thinking more or less the same thing himself, it was a completely different think for Toph to say it. He wanted to shout the same thing back at her, but was able to stop himself from saying a word. One look at her toned arm an inch away from his own was enough to know that while she was very petite, she was also in better shape than he was. He had also seen the reaction the slightest mention of any females weight or psychical shape got, it was not pretty. The best he could come up with in response was. "I have been working on my mind, avatar stuff the last few years. Psychical work wasn't a preparatory."

"You can say that again." Toph made a move to knock Aang in his gut with her elbow, but he was able to move out of the way just in time. "I won't be surprised if you had forgotten how to earthbend completely."

Maybe he wasn't as much of a pacifist as he had always though he was, or maybe it was just her. Whatever it was Aang stopped in his tracks, extended his hands out in-front of himself then moved them sharply downwards. In reaction to his bending, a medium sized block of earth rose from the earth a few feet behind Toph. The block then speed towards her back. Toph felt what he was doing the second he even thought of bending at her. She didn't move, or flinch in the slightest as the block of earth moved closer to hitting her on the back of her head. Aang's heart rate increased greatly as the block started to get very close to Toph. He was sure she would have felt what he was doing and blocked it.

He was just about to close his eyes, not wanting to see Toph get hit, when she finally moved. With less than an inch to spare Toph let herself fall onto her knees, spinning round to face Aang as she did. Her right arm was held out in-front of her, the left bent into her chest. Aang was to busy looking at her odd position, he never saw the block of earth hurtling towards him till it was a foot away. He held out his right arm, palm facing outwards, to absorbed the hit. When the block did hit his hand, it shattered into hundreds of smaller pieces. Aang hadn't even been pushed back a little by the force of the hit.

Toph slowly pulled herself up, as Aang slowly lowered his arm. They stood facing each other, fighting back the laughter and smiles they didn't want to let out. Aang hadn't not been fast enough with the block when he sent it at Toph, and she hadn't held back with the force that she returned it to him. If anything Aang was faster, and Toph was stronger than they had been the last time the spared. It was the way they reacted, how they judged the situation and what the best counter was that had changed. Toph smiled, because Aang had learned from her, he faced the speeding block like a true earthbender. Facing it head on. Aang like wise smiled, as Toph had picked up on a few thing from him. Avoiding blows, with the speed and grace of an airbender. They laughed because, despite all that was going on, this was still the most fun they had, had in a long time.

Aang stopped laughing, with a heavy sigh. He was surprised and excited to see this side of Toph. There was also a hint of sadness to it too, hence the sigh. Like Toph he knew deep down that their truce over the Long feng issue was only temporary, it wouldn't last. They would have to resolve it soon. Seeing how strong Toph was, made him realise how hard that next confrontation was going to be. She had never been a push over, he wouldn't have made her a grand master if she was. Now she would be more of a challenge, if it came down to that. He chose to follow up his sigh with a question, he had wanted to ask for a while. "So, this person you want to meet up with..." He let his voice trail off, hoping she would finish if off for him.

Instead Toph let out a sigh, much quieter than Aang's."In the earth kingdom and on this mission. General out ranks avatar. So stop making everything so difficult." With the tone of her voice, Aang expected her to stomp her foot before she turned and started walking again. She didn't though, and Aang just followed her lead and ran a little to catch up to her again. That was all he could really do, that and smile a little as he did. She had a very odd way of getting her own way, however she nearly always did get her own way. He just had to change that a little.

"Ok that's right…...but, as I know in the earth kingdom men are meant to take care of noble women… and that is what I am going to do." He spoke the last part so fast, as he made his move. He had to be quick.

"What are you talking about twinkle toes, you aren't…..." She was to slow to react. Before she could finish, or even move, Aang had grabbed her round the waist, and throw her over his shoulder. Making sure it was his left, as Momo was still on his right.

"Put me down,Aang!. I mean it. Aang!" she was yelling, and calling him by his really name, that was not good. It didn't take long for her to start hitting him on the back, but it did her no good. Aang held her tightly in place. His left hand over her back, and the right over the back of her knee's, stopping her from kicking him.

This was not the kind of thing Aang normally did, but with Toph sometimes he realised he had to go out of his comfort zone. Do things he would normally not do, and this was one of those times. He felt they need a little fun, a release from all the tension. Aang knew very well he would have to put Toph down at some point. bad he did, there was a very high chance he would be killed or at the very least severely hurt, but that was a risk he felt he had to take.


	6. Chapter 6

Aang and Toph hadn't been walking for very long, since Aang had been forced to let Toph go. Placing her back on the ground, due to one very painful punch she landed right on his spine. As they walked Aang kept rubbing his right arm, where Tophhad ago punched him, when he had finally had to put her down. This was mainly due to the fact that he couldn't reach the soon to be very large bruise on his back. Toph had chosen to ignore his actions, as she walked on ahead of him, but it was really starting to slow her down now. "Stop being such a big baby. I didn't hit you that hard."

"Yes you did, and I am not being a baby." She couldn't help but laugh at his whiny voice. Momo who had moved from Aang's shoulder to Toph, had to told on a little tighter to her robe as her shoulder now shock with her laughter. Aang, himself found a smile cross his face at Toph's laughter. The sound of her laughter had always been comforting to him. It was what lead him to her in the first place, helped him realise who she was when he finally got to see her for real. Most importantly it was the first laughter and smile he saw when he awoke after his fightwith Azula, and then later after he had finally defeated the fire lord. Her laughter, and the smile that went with it was the first that he heard. She never did either of these things a lot, so they were also rare.

Before she could get out a come back, or stop her laughter long enough to come up with one, a loud yell filled the area as a pair of heavy footsteps run their way. "Toph, princess Toph."A young man, a few years older than both Aang and Toph came stumbling out from behind a large shrub. It wasn't his dress that gave away that he was from the fire nation, it was the fact that he called her princess Toph that did that. When Toph and Zuko had been planning to get married she had to be made a fire nation citizen, so she was made princess of the fire nation. Even though the wedding hadn't taken place, most of the fire nation still thought of her as their princess. A fact she was stll very uncomfortable with.

"What. What do you want." She tried to make her voice sound as harsh as she could, but she was still thinking of the Aang'swhiny voice. So it came out a little forced.

The young man was having a hard time getting his breath back, so he took long breaths after almost every word he spoke. "My... friend fell... please... help."

"Show us the way." Toph had now regained control of her voice, making it come out as calm as she intended it to. The man then turned and run back the way he had come. Toph didn't hesitate for a second, the second he moved she followed him. Aang then followed her lead. There was a lot of questions running through his head, fist of which was why was someone from the fire nation in this part of the earth kingdom, and how did he recognise Toph before he saw her. The last of those questions was answered, as the man led them up and over a small hill. Where when he looked back, Aang could see the path he and Toph had been walking along. He must have started to yell for her, from here.

Once they where a few feet from the hill, at the base of a larger hill, that had a sharp drop from a good few feet, coming out of a large build up of rocks, their guide stopped. He looked around frantically. "He was here... when I le…"

"Over here!" Before either of the men could say a word Toph started to run again. Toph followed the racing heart beat, of someone who was resting under a tree a few feet away. It didn't take a genius to figure out who this maybe. When she reached him, she moved to kneel next to the man, taking his pulse, and cheeking his heart rate. She was joined by Aang and the other man a few seconds later. The way she had appeared through the trees, in her long flowing robe she wore over trousers and knelt by him, her soft cool hands placed on his forhead and wrist, he thought she was an angel.

Aanglooked the young man over. He was clearly not as old as his friend, but still a little older than himself and Toph. He didn't look like he was badly hurt, there was no blood or anything except his face was very pale. In fact he was almost whiter than Toph. "I don't get it, his injures aren't that serious, so why is his heart rate racing like this. He is so cold."

The man, his friend that had led them here moved closer, kneeling next to Toph. "He was fine at first,when I left him." Toph had been speaking to herself before, but he tried to answer her anyway. "He took some pain medicine. So we could make it to the village, but he starter to get really tired and..."

For the second time Toph cut him off, this time with a question. "What pain medicine." Only Aangthat knew her better could pick up on the slight trace of fear in her voice. The Man pulled out a small bottle from his pocket and handed it to her. Toph opened the lid, and brought it up to her nose. "Where did you get this." Her voice now had a serious tone to it, but the fear was now creping in a little more. "Its poison, the plants you used are poisonous when mixed." She now picked up on three racing heart rates. "Aang that plant over there, by the tree bring some of it here. You get that flower. " Her right hand left the younger injured man's wrist to point to the flower she wanted. He seemed to almost reach out for her touch again.

The other men did as they where told. Both a little uneasy about being ordered around by a girl, but also impressed. As they did Toph pulled out a pouch of massed up herbs out of her bag. She then bent a rock to her, which she then bent into a bowl. Once she had the ingredients in the bowl, including the ones that had been brought to her, she massed them together. When it was a paste she bent the mixture round so fast it looked like a mini tornado, she did this till it was turned into a liquid. Aanghad never seen bending like this before, she really could almost bend anything that had a little bit of earth in it. He knew right now he was right to make her grand master earthbender.

"Drink this." She moved the bowl up to her patient's mouth. He drank, but only half of the liquid. "Come on, you have to drink it all." He did, all be it very slowly. "Aang hand me the disinfectant cream out of my pack, and the bandages." It seemed that her initial fears had subsided, she was now calm and felt in control.

He found the bandages essay enough, but he wasn't sure which was the cream he was looking for. There was a light green one, and a slightly yellow one. He had been a little slow following Toph's orders, as he was enjoying seeing this side of her. It was the wrong time to he thinking about how much she had grown up, as she sent him a harsh glare when he had still yet to move. Therefore he didn't want to make her any more irritated at him, by asking her a lot of questions, but he had no other choice. "Is it the green or yellow one. "

"How should I now. Just give them here." her voice was starting to get a little more stern again. Aangknew this was due to him, it was nothing to do with the man she was taking care off. The man's friend however didn't know this, so he now started to panic a little, his heart starting to race again. Toph picked upon this right away, to calm him down she pulled her pack from Aang, pulling the bottles out. She brought them up to her nose, like she had done with the poison. Smelling both of them, she found the right one. The green one. The patient didn't have many cuts, just one large one on his left arm. Applying the cream was a little over cautious, but she didn't want to take the risk of him getting an infection. She applied the cream, then tightly wrapped the bandage around the cut on his arm.

The colour was starting to come back to his face. Toph didn't see this of course, so she had to rely on her other senses to tell he was improving. Gently she placed her hand on his forehead, he wasn't as cold as he had been and he wasn't getting a fever either. It seemed it was time to move onto the last thing she had to fix. "Ok you've hurt your leg, its not broken but I have to heal it so it can get better sooner, ok." she waited for him to give a nod or anything to let her know he understood. He lifted his right hand, took hold of her hand that was still on his forehead. He gave her hand the tightest squeeze he could, before he let her hand go. Toph took this as a sign he understood what she was saying. "This is going to hurt, so I what you to hold on to my hand again, as tightly as you have to." This time she gave him her right hand, and placed her left had on his leg, just below the knee.

"What if... I hurt you." His voice was low, but he was starting to get his breath back. He had been avoiding looking at her face. He was so sure she was some kind of angel when he first saw her, he worried if he looked at her he would be disappointed, and he didn't want to ruin the image he had in his head. He now finally let himself look at her face properly. Hie eyes feel on hers, as they drifted over the area in-front of her. He wasn't disappointed. He knew who she was, he had been in the front of the crowd in Ba Sing Se when she and the others were made ambassadors. The stories he had heard about her seemed all the more interesting now he saw her. He tore his eyes of her to look at Aang, he saw all that he heard about him in a whole new light now as well,

"You won't. Ready." she never gave him a chance to answer, or respond. To Aang and the other man, it didn't look like she was doing anything at all. The only thing that told them something was actually happening was the look of pain on the patients face. His eyes were clenched shut, casing his checks to rise, revealing his teeth that were also clenched together. The whole area seemed to have fallen into silence while Toph worked, and it was only broken as she let out a faint sigh. Signalling that her work was done. "You did great." Toph's voice was warm and caring. Aang tried to remember when he had heard her voice that way before. She gave the man she had been treating, hand a quick squeeze and a warm smile, before she removed her hand from his.

Toph now got to her feet, and walked over to the two observers. "Aang bend a earth tent." Her attention had never really been on Aang, she walked right past him whileshe spoke to him. she pulled the other man a few feet away, and handed him a small bottlefrom the pocket of her robe. "This is real pain medicine. Give it to him tomorrow when the other medicine wears off. Move him to the earth tent to rest when he has come around a little more, just make sure you get to the village before sunset. He should be able to make the short journey, with your help."

Her eyes had been down cast, the whole time she spoke. They had been about to lift, as she turned to walk away back to Aang. Who she could tell had just finished doing as she had asked. However the older man moved first, he pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much princess." He whispered into her ear. she didn't reply, or make any move to return the hug. Aang had turned to her to see if she would need him to do anything else, when he saw her being pulled into a hug, his body moved a step closer, before he stopped himself. She had been released and was walking back towards him before he moved again. Turning on the spot to fallow where she was going.

She moved back over to her patient, and again knelt down beside him. Taking up her previous position. "I have to go now, but I will see you again. At the nearby village in a few days. You are not to leave that village till I get back. Understand."The last part had been directed to the other man, who she turned to face as she addressed him.

The patient lifted his right hand to hold her left one, before she pulled herself to her feet again. "You really are an angel. Earth angel." She knew where he must have heard that name from, the out post outside of BA Sing Se. Being called by that name again, after so long reminded her of the men that had first called her by it. The men she treated at the out post. She had never liked the name. There was to much expected of a name like that, and she could never met those expectation.

Gently taking from his, Toph pulled away. There was nothing more to say, what was there to say to what he just said. Momo who had been sitting by the injured man, watching everything that was going on, climbed up onto Toph's shoulder as she walked past him. Aangpicked up their packs and fallowed her. After walking in silence for a little while, Aang looked over at Toph to see if she would want her pack back, she had always been very private about her things. As she looked her way, Aang noticed Tophwas wrapping a little of the left over bandage around her right hand. She clenched her hand shut, and when she straightened it out again, he noticed four red circles appear on the white bandage.

Feeling his eyes on her, her hand Toph held out her unbadaged left hand for her pack back."That was amazing Toph." He didn't expect her to say anything in respond. There wasn't really any response to what he had just said. He just wanted to tell her who great he thought what she had just done was.

After a what felt like a long pause she did find something to say. "It was nothing, I've dealt with worse." She wasn't barging or showing off, that wasn't her nature, she was simply stating a fact. A fact she hoped would stop him form trying to talk about that particular topic any more. It was this fact that was the reason why he had an uneasy feeling.


	7. Chapter 7

It didn't take long for Aang and Toph to reach the village, it wasn't far. There was a lot on Aang's mind. The point were he would have to make a choice about what he was going to do about Long Feng, was getting closer, there was also many things he wanted to ask Toph, but instead they talked about stupid stuff. Neither wanting to ruin the uneasy truce between them. Aang had started to try and get Toph to talk more about how she learned to be a herbalist, but she remained very tight lipped.

Toph was now leading them through the village. Once they turned out of the side street they had entered the village from, onto the main street their presence became know to the villagers. They received a lot of odd looks, and were the subject of many hushed comments. "Is that... It can't be" "They're younger than I though they would be."

Toph heard all of this, Aang even with his large ears didn't catch most of it, which was probably a good thing. Some of the things the younger men whispered about Toph would have cased Aang to go against his pacifist nature. He heard some of it though, and was about to ask Toph if he had heard right, but she spoke first. "They seem scared of you."

Aang moved his eyes from side to side, looking more closely than he had before at the people that filled the street. Almost all of them seemed to have a look of frightened fascination. The kind of look a young child has when they look at a burning fire. They are scared, because they had been told they should get clost to it or they would get hurt, but they still cant take their eyes away, because it is just to pretty. "I think their scared of what I might be capable of." As he spoke, Aang's head fell slightly.

"You don't scare me." Aang sharply lifted his head to look at the earthbenderwalking beside him. There was a tone in her voice he wasn't used to. She was telling the truth, but it was like she knew that what she said was going to be seen as a complement to him, that it would mean something to him. There was also the self-assured note in her voice that seemed to always be there.

His mouth opened to responded, but no words came out. He realised just in time, that that was the wrong thing to say. "Well, you scare me." he didn't mean psychically, well maybe he did a little. She could do him a lot of damage he knew that all to well. What he ment was in a way, was the way he felt about her, around her. She was different from any one else he had ever known. Like now with long Feng she was pushing him to do what he should be doing, to be the person she thought he could be. She seemed to have always had the idea that he was stronger, smarter and tougher than he showed himself to be, Aang himself hoped she was right, but doubted it. He also hoped she understood what he was trying to say right now, she scared him because she brought out a side of himself he wasn't used to. She was the one he could lose it at, yelling and screaming, lashing out , but she also made himstronger and more stubborn. His eyes had drifted away from her, not wanting to seem that he was staring at her, waiting for a response. When he turned to look at her, he noticed she wasn't beside him any more. He turned franticly from side to side, till he saw her turning down a narrow side street, he ran to catch up with her.

When he reached her, he looked ahead at what they they walking towards. At the end of the street was a small house, it looked so flimsy, like it was going to fall apart if even just a mild wind came. "Here we are." Toph stopped a few paces outside the door, tilting her head to the left to face her air bending friend. "Go in, and ask him if he knows where Long Feng is right now." Toph seemed to half turn her body round as she feel back, ending up leaning against the wall of the house. Aang held his breath, waiting for the house to collapse, but it remained standing.

"Let me guess, this guy isn't going to be very pleased to see you either, so no warm welcomes again."

"You're not as dump as you look twinkles." Her head now moved to her right, were the door to the house was, she gave a slight nod of her head gesturing to the door, so he was clear were it was. While her head had mover, her eyes didn't them seemed to be set on Aang's. "I've got your back" She didn't have to tell Aang that, she just felt it was important to say it out loud, just to make sure he knew.

He nodded and walked forward. He was about to knock on the door, when it started to crack open in-front of him. A quick glance at Toph and he knew she had done it. Her right hand was now placed on the stone wall of the house. With a sigh and a faint grin on his face, the avatar crossed the fresh-hold of the makeshift house. "Hello is any one here." he called out, feeling it was a little to late to be polite after he had already entered the house without knocking. He was sure he could hear Toph letting out a laugh, before she was able to bit her lip, quieting the laughter.

The house was just one large room, with one other door opposite the open Aang had just come through. There was a large table in the centre of the room, it was covered in junk, the whole room was. There were bits of wood and metal everywhere. When he looked closer he saw that most of the junk looked like it was broken objects used for cooking or other daily chores. It seemed that the man that lived here made a living from fixing broken things. The irony of Toph finding a place like this was almost to much for him to not laugh at.

"Hello how may I help you." Aang had been so busy looking round the room, he didn't notice the man walk in. He had entered from the door opposite Aang. The man looked older than he really was. He was dressed in brown robes, with a thick grey clock. Which seemed a little odd and made him seem older, as it wasn't that cold outside. There was a friendly grin on the man's face that Aang didn't trust. It was just to friendly to be genuine.

"I needed to know if you have any information on Long Feng." Aang was trying to make his voice come out as loud and strong as he could. He hoped he was succeeding, but wasn't so sure. The old man still had a plastered smile on his face, and a look in his eyed like hew as dealing with a annoying child that was asking to many questions, letting Aang know he wasn't being taken seriously. Toph must have been wrong about the people in the village being scared of him.

"No, I'm very sorry I don't." As he spoke the man walked past the table, that had separated them and moved towards Aang. "If I do I will be sure to let you know." Once he finally reached Aang he placed his left hand on his shoulder and gentle, yet firmly guild him to the door. When they where a few steps away from the door he dropped his hand. Aang was about to protest, try and get any information from the man he could, when the man let out a high pitched scream. Aang turned to see the man standing with his right hand in the air, holding a dagger.

"Henko, where you really just about to stab the Avatar in the back. You know that is the kind of thing that is going to get you sent back to prison." Toph had appeared from the same door Henko had. She was holding her right arm up in front of her. It was shaking slightly from the tension of bending Lysenko's arm. her voice was like a mother telling off a naugthy child.

"No I wasn't. Let me go." His voice now seemed to give away his true age despite the way he looked, he sounded like a moody teenager being told off. It was clear from the look of pain on his face, Henpeck was trying to move his arm.

"Then what is this." As she spoke in her mocking tone, she spread her fingers further out, and the dagger dropped to the ground. The sound of the dagger clareting on the hard floor, was louder than any of them expected, casing them all to jump a little. Then In a split second she turned her hand round, so her palm was now facing her. This caused Henko to turn and face her, as well. He then was moved back to sit in a chair, in the corner of the room, as Toph sent her arm out in-front of her.

Aang seeing an opportunity to do something to help, moved to pick up a metal chain from the ground near his foot. He used it to tie Henko to the chair, so Toph wouldn't have to keep bending him in place. he knew how much she hated was very easy to tie the man as he was unable to move. "Now. Are you going to tell us what we want to know." He didn't speak. He moved the only part of his body he could. His eyes away from her. "I helped you, stood up for you, remember. You would be in prison now, if I didn't say I would watch you. I what to do the same thing for Long Feng." As she spoke she moved closer to him. She had tried asking, now she was having to try and appeal to him.

"Why should I trust you." He lifted his eyes to finally looked her in the face, not that she knew. The was a note of pleading in his voice that surprised Aang. Toph however didn't seem to react to it at all.

She took one more step towards him, so she was only a few inches from him and bent down, so their faces where level. "I am the only person in the world who always knows when someone is lying. So I make sure I always tell the truth. It's only far." Aang had never known this about Toph. He always thought she was so brutally honest because she had no censorship. The fact that she choose to be like that, to make up for reading people more than they wanted her or anyone too, seemed a little strange. He still believed that part of it was also to do with her nature bluntness though.

Henko was quiet for a few seconds. Then a sudden uncontrollable wave of angry washed over him. He tried again to move, but the only thing he could move was his head, so he tried to spit in Toph's face, but he missed. She got to her feet in one quick move and straightened her arms out to her sides. Tightening the metal chain, as tightly as she could. He let out a small yell of pain. "I have a short temper, and this chain doesn't have a lot of links left until it will cut you in half. So tell us what you know." Aang found himself staring at Toph rather than Henko. He had been so shocked to see the more caring side of Toph earlier, and now this. For the second time he felt uncomfortable, knowing that she was like this because of him. Her voice sounded so harsh.

"Omashu, he is going to Omashu." his voice was rushed and he was almost screaming. Aang didn't know where to look, he didn't want to look at the man in pain. Toph wasn't much more pleasant to look at now. The fearsomeness in her voice had long gone, her face now had a look of regret.

"That wasn't so hard now was it." she shout him her sweet smile, Aang saw right through it. Then she began to leave. The chains had loosened there hold on Henko, but they still held him to the chair. Aang glanced between Toph and Henko, not knowing what to do. Should he just leave with Toph or untie the man first.

"Let me out of here, you witch!" Toph was just about to reach out to open the door when he said that. Aang show her visibly tense up. Her bandaged right hand was shaking as it hung by her side. Henko was trashing around in the chair, trying to free himself. The contrast of his frantic movements and Toph's stillness made Aang fell even more uncomfortable. Toph seemed to finally be able to tacking a breath, before she unexpectedly moved, rushing out of the house.

Aang didn't have to think any more about what he should do next, he ran after her. "Toph….Toph, wait...stop." When he was close enough, he reached out taking hold of her right wrist. Her legs stopped moving, but she still kept trying to get her wrist free from his tight hold. The more she struggled the more her body seemed to lean more towards the ground, so that Aang's hold was the only thing keeping her up. When he started to lose his grip on her, and her legs slipped a little out from under her, Aang took hold of her left arm with his free hand, pulling her in to him. "What he said..."

"Hit me." Her voice was so quiet he wasn't sure he heard her right. Her face was resting close to his chest, muffling her voice a little. Aang lowered his head to look at her, she pulled back from him a little, casing their faces when they finally faced each other to be a mere few inches apart. "I am a witch. I broke a guys arms permanently, I pushed Azula over the edge. She is scared of me. She had Zuko swear to protect her from me. Henko was right. Just hit me! You've done it before, go on do it!" Her voice had started of so low then strong, now it was braking. He saw her eyes tear up. He didn't know what to say to her. She was more broken then he ever thought. All he could do was pull her into a hug. At first she fought him with what little effort she could mange. Eventually though she let herself rest in his arms, but only for a few seconds.

Just before she pulled herself free from his tight hold, Aang whispered something he hoped would be comforting into the top of her head. Which he as resting his head on. "No one has the right to judge you, especially him, or me." As she pulled away from him, Aang noticed had his hand that had been on the back on her head, was holding onto her hair that was now falling through his fingers.

"We have to get going, if we want to make it to Omashu by night fall." She had put the mask back on again. Pushing aside all of the emotion she had just let slip out. Aang felt a change in the way they were with each other. She had always been the strong, tough one. He had relied on her, now she was starting to rely on him, even if it was only a little bit. He had never felt like the strong protector type, not even with Katara, but he did now.

He wanted to try and get her to open up to him more, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't ready for that, one day she would be, but not know. So he left her step further away from him, and act like nothing had happened. "How are we going to get there by night fall, it's to far."

"On an earth wave." He doubted by looking at her red eyes and still tense body, that she had the strength to bend a earth wave all the way to Omashu. Her voice however made him think that she just might be able to. Toph took a deep breath as she took up her stance. "Get behind me." her voice wasn't as forceful as he would normally expect it to be, but he still did as he was told. She bent the earth underneath them into a wave. Aang nearly fell of a few times, before he built up the courage to move closer to Toph. In a few minuet Aang couldn't even see the village any more.

* * *

**Thank you, i hope you like it. there are only other three chapters to this part of the story, then I will be moving onto the next part. which will be the second of five add on parts to the fifth-teen i have already done. i feel i should point somethings out here, Toph was being called a witch as a reference to being a witch of the east, a bonebender. Aang hitting Toph before is in part one of the story. and lastly i used to always have a note like this at the end of all chapters, but i have stopped doing that as much as i didn't see the pint, as no one was really responding to the question, or help in writing the story. so it's not that i am not interested in your views on the story, i am, very much so i just am not getting a any really feed back, so why bother. thank you though to the people that are giving me their views, good and bad. it all helps and i try and act on all of it, if i can. i od have one question for this chapter though, for those that have read those story the first time, then you know how it is all going to work out, i just wanted to know if i am giving to much away to soon (i regards to the way Toph and Aang are with each other) should i pull back on that a little now, so it will be more interesting later on. **


	8. Chapter 8

After a shorter trip than he expected, Aang got this first look at the entrance to the cave of two lovers in about five years. It was the quickest way to Omashu, plus this time he had Toph with him. She would be able to guide them easily through, without any trouble. So he wasn't too worried, but the idea of possibly facing a skilled earthbender in a place like that, surrounded by earth wasn't appealing. Toph brought the earth wave to a stop close to the entrance. Before Aang had a chance to say anything, Toph ran towards the entrance. He didn't want to waist his energy running after her again, so he bent a stream of air after her. The Air Wrapped around her small waist, as he slowly walked towards her. She was pulled back to him, her back against his chest while he place his right arm around her waist, following on from the air. He knew if she wanted to she could pull free from him. The fact that she let herself be held back was reassuring. "We need to talk. Before we go in there." He spoke to the back of her head. Her hair had fallen over his shoulder and some had at first landed on his face before he shock it off. It smelt of grass, fresh grass. So different from Katara's that he remembered smelling of sea salt.

"There is nothing to talk about. I'm fine. I let my guard down for a minute, that's all." Her left hand had been lifted to rest gently on top of Aang's right hand, that rested just above her left hip-bone.

He spoke calmly not meaning too, but his quiet voice spoken almost directly into her ear made her squirm a little as his breath tickled the back of her neck. "It's more than that. I promised Iroh I would look after you…"

"He's in there." Before he could stop her Toph ripped his hand off of her and ran into the cave. He took off after her. He knew he wasn't going to be able to catch up to her when she was like this, not to mention where they were, surrounded by earth her element, but he couldn't let her go off on her own.

"Toph... Toph! Wait." The light from the entrance of the cave was starting to get fainter and fainter, till it was gone. From then on Aang had to trust the lessons Toph had given him about seeing through the earth. The only thing he could feel was her running up ahead. He felt he was starting to gain on her, then he lost her. "Toph!" He stopped running, when she didn't answer again he started to concentrate on feeling any vibrations from Toph or Long Feng he could. He didn't see them, but he felt the air get stronger. The strange thing was that rather than coming from behind him, from the entrance it was coming from further into the cave, towards him. He had closed his eyes, but now slowly started to open them. The next thing he knew, before he had fully opened his eyes a hand was pushed over his mouth.

"Shut up. He might hear you." Her voice was almost a whisper. After a long pause she quickly removed her hand. "Come on." She took his hand, as her hand lowered to her side and pulled him along with her, as she took off further into the cave. He realised where the strong air current had been coming from, Toph was using the earth to send her a few feet ahead, lifting her and Aang off the ground for a few seconds at a time. When they landed each time she would repeat the action and send them forward another few feet. Aang would normally have used firebending to light the cave, but that would give away their presence. Toph didn't need any light to find their way anyway, to her it was as clear as day. He just had to let her lead the way, knowing that was the least he could do. Once they found Long Feng, he didn't care what Toph said, he was going to bring him back to Ba Sing Sa, even if he had to fight Toph to do it.

They ran through the cave for a little longer, until Toph stooped dead, as their hands were still held together, Aang was forced to stop as well. The sudden forced that pulled him back to stand next to Toph, cased him to lose his balance a little and knock into Toph's shoulder. "He's a few feet ahead." Her hand slipped out of his, as it did the bandage that she had wrapped around her palm not long ago came undone and fell to the ground. Aang took a few steps ahead, leaving Toph rooted to the spot she had stopped at.

He noticed a faint light up ahead and unconsciously kept walking towards it. "What's the plan." He stopped and turned to look at Toph, who hadn't moved. Aang had promised Toph that once they found Long Feng, they would make the choice as to what to do together. He had lied, and he hated himself for it. The only thing that made him feel a little better about it, was knowing that she must already now and had accepted it. Also his main reason for doing what he was doing was for her, not that he would let her know that.

He felt Toph taking in a deep breath, before she moved to rush past him. Her voice was low, but he heard what she said as she moved past him. "Stay out of my way." He didn't even see her run past him, she was to fast. Like him she had a mission, and she wasn't about to stop now. Toph knew Long Feng would probably be able to pick up on her running at him. So she was going to have to make the first hit count

When she was closer to the former leader of the dai li, she bent two earth spikes out of the wall on either side of him, as her opening move. Long Feng finally noticed her, not by her running but by the speeding spikes. Their was only one he knew that could bend that fast. Instinctively he bent a wall around himself, hoping to avoid any attacks. He was very essay to predict. Toph had planed on this, she figured this would be his counter to her first strike. Toph now bent another, much smaller a and sharper earth spike up throw the ground underneath his feet. Forcing him to move up and back up agents the wall. His next move would be to try to move his arms to bend the wall down, but when he tried this, he found couldn't move them.

"They are being held by a stream of dirt, you can't bend that can you." Even through the wall of earth, he could almost taste the sarcasm in her last statement. Masked as a question. It took him a bit of time to figure out what exactly she was taking about. His arms were being held by a stream of dust from the floor of the cave. He didn't understand at first how she could know that. All the walls except the one behind Long Fend came down. He couldn't see anything clearly at first. The torch he had been caring had fallen to the ground, and gone out when he bent up the walls around himself.

Aang finally approached them. When he was by her side, Toph bent the last wall down. It looked to Aang that the way she bent the wall down, was going case it to fall right on top of Long Feng. Of course she wasn't that cruel, the wall feel around him, and formed a casing around him up to his head. Aang's eyes drifted from Toph to Long Feng, he was having a moment of hesitation. Long Feng looked so much older than the last time he saw him. Was it really worth all of this just to drag this old man back to a cell. His eyes now fell on Toph, there was a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. A look of absolute determination. That look didn't belong on her face, no look so cruel belonged on her soft face. To Aang it was Long Feng that was the reason for that look, for taking away Jet. He knew for sure what he had to do.

Aang moved into a stance and bent the casing down from around Long Feng. Toph spun round to face her friend that was now activity turning against her. In that split second she took her attention off of Long Feng, that was all he needed. He bent a bolder right towards Toph's head. Aang saw this before she did. Before she was aware of what was going on, Aang had moved in-front of her. He took the bolder to his right shoulder, as he was taller than Toph. Both earthbenders expected the airbender to be knocked over by the force of the bolder, but he was only knocked back a few inches. Toph was about to reach out to catch him, but he moved forward sending his right arm out in-front of himself.

Long Feng tried to move into a stance to pull up a wall that would separate him from the two young benders, but when he did he felt something cut his hand. Aang was bending a speeding stream of air around him. He once again was unable to move. "Avatar." His voice betrayed his shock, but there was no missing the anger that was slipping out.

"Yeah." It was his voice so cold that sacred and worried Toph more than his racing heart. "Now let's get out of here, turn and start walking." Aang had been calm about the whole thing, everything he had done so far, but hearing his voice brought up all this anger in him. Not only had this man betrayed his nation, killed Jet, he had just tried to hurt Toph. The person that he had promised a dyeing friend he would protect.

The three of them made their way slowly along tunnel they were in, that would lead them out of the cave. Long Feng walked in front, with Toph and Aang following behind. Soon Aang and Long Feng started to see a light in the distance. Toph had been avoiding facing Aang, or being any closer to him than a good couple of inches. Just before he saw the day light appearing he has almost reached out to take her hand, with his free hand, he had to keep the other held out in-front of him, to keep Long Feng in the stream of air. She had felt his hand move and moved hers out of the way so fast.

Aang stopped took a rope out of his bag, with his free hand and handed it to Toph. She didn't need to be told what he was asking her to do. Aang stopped bending the stream of air, so Toph in a split second tied the rope around Long Feng before he could make a break for it. "What do we do now." Toph was the first to speak, as she pulled the robe tighter making sure it would hold. Her voice had also now taken on a harsh tone.

"I can't let..."

"Wait." She turned to face Long Feng, sitting her sightless eyes on him. "Did you come here on your own."

"Yes. Why..."

"You're lying. Aang there's someone else here, a non-bender. You have to go and find them." He wanted to protest, but the tone of her voice told him not to argue with her. So he left. She must know what he was planing, that he wasn't going to change his mind. That was why he did as he was told, trying to make it up to her. Just before he was out of clear ear shout she spoke again. "I'll watch him." The way she said it made both men a little nervous.

Long Feng tried to look her in the eyes, in the faint light as she turned her head away. He wanted to try and see what she was thinking, but all he saw was himself reflected back at him. All of his guilt and self-hate, he had to turn away. Without having to look her in the eyes, a little of his courage came back. "You know better than I do, that there is no one else here, apart from the three of us."

"We need to talk." She spun her head round towards him so fast his heart raced, she thought it was going to burst out of his chest. "You killed a friend of mine. I want to know if your ever think about him." Long Feng couldn't speak. Even if he could what was there to say. "You are just a weak coward. Your not worth it. Your not worth me or Aang to even think about again. Or fight over." She was now slowly edging closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the light shine off a silver dagger she was pulling from the belt she wore with her right hand. He clenched his eyes shut, as he took one last step towards him. He waited for the cool sting of the dagger. It never came, all he felt was the robe slipping away from him. As he opened his eyes, the dagger was being lowered to Toph's side, were she attached it to her belt again.

In a split second he turned and started to run towards the exit from the cave, that was only a few feet away now. Toph let him run, she let out a deep breath before she moved too. She turned and smoothly lifted her right hand out in-front of her. Her fingers were stretched out, at she took control of his legs and arms, casing him to stop in his tracks. With the exit and his escape just in sight. Toph moved to stand beside him. "You know how I'm doing this, don't you." If he could move him head, he would have nodded, as he couldn't get any words out of his mouth. "So you would know that all I have to do is close my hand and I would crush you. Your organs would be crushed by your rib cage, and your brain by your skull." The tone of her voice remained steady and even, there was no trace of any emotion. In the faint light that streamed into the cave, if Toph could see she would have been able to see a faint tear falling down the now old man's check. "I am going to let you go back to your family, but I am going to be watching you. If you so much as earthbend a rock at any one, I will church you with my own hands, no bending needed. Are we clear" She held her hold on him loosen a little, so he was able to move his head, nodding in response to her question."Get out of my sight." She meant out of here filed of vision with earthbending, there was no need to clarify that though."Go!"

The second she completely realised him from the bending he made to leave. Her voice had sounded more like a growl from a fierce animal, than the voice of a young noble lady, scaring him more than the dagger. From the exit Long Feng was heading towards, there was a fifth-teen foot drop to the ground below. This exit was only a side exit a fall safe for people who got lost, there used to be a set of stairs that lead to the ground, but they had long since crumpled away. He bent a part of the cave floor to use as a way of carrying him to the ground. Before he left, riding the large slate of earth out of the cave, he said one last thing. "Everyday."

Toph moved to the exit. She pleased the palm of her right hand on the wall, to get a better feel of where Aang was and to steady herself. She felt her breath hard to get, and her legs felt like they would give way under her. She could feel him running towards her. He had finally figured out what was going on. She had never excepted it would take him this, she was grateful for it though. It gave her the time she needed to do what she had to do. Now she had to face Aang, and she knew that was not going to be pleasant.

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**Thank you for reading and for reviews. It is always great to know what you the think of the story, how to make it better. I feel I should point out that the dagger that Toph has is still that same one that she got in part 5, from the guy that held it to her throat. Again please review an sly me know what you think. There are going to be two more chapters to this part of the story, then will move on to the next part, that I am really looking forward to writing. **


	9. Chapter 9

Aang ran through the cave, with a ball of fire burning in his right hand. There was no need to hide his presence any longer. In the back of his mind he knew that something wasn't right, that they was no else in the caves. He left them though because he believed that Toph need a moment to talk to him alone. He trusted her, why wouldn't he, he was the one lying to her. His ability to see through the earth wasn't anywhere near as good as Toph's, but he felt the earth move in the area he just left Toph and Long Feng in. Maybe in his desire to make it up to her for lying he had been to trusting of her, but she would never go behind his back. If she had to she would tell him what she thought to his face. There was no mistaking the earth moving, and the lose of one of the heart beats he had started now to focus on though.

_No. she wouldn't. _

He turned around and ran back the way he had just come. He wanted to be proven wrong, but the closer he got, the more he could feel from her the faster he ran. When he got close enough he saw the light from the exit again. The ball of fire, in his hand was extinguished, there was no need for it now. He also didn't trust himself to have any kind of weapon on himself now. He saw Toph standing facing the exit, with her right arm leaning on the wall. He didn't stop, he kept running right past her. He didn't want to look at her right now.

He was about to bend the air around him to carry himself out of the exit, when he felt his body freeze up. The rage he felt was getting stronger. First she goes behind his back on something so important, then she uses bonebending on him. "I hate using this so please, just listen to me." He felt his body turn around to face her. Her left hand was straightened out towards him. Her face looked a little darned, and her eyes looked like they had been close to tears. His anger softened a little, but not very much.

"Why did you go behind my back." His voice cam out louder and harsher than he had meant it to. With the faint light he thought he saw her face tighten up, like she was fighting back the urge to cry.

Toph still with her hand held out, took a step towards the restrained avatar. "I'll let you go,and if you want you can run after him. You just have to listen to me first." Despite the look on her face, her voice came out strong and calm.

She wasn't asking for anything unreasonable, but he couldn't just let it go. He had wanted her to be his earthbending teacher, because she was the only person that could do that job, he had always known that deep down. There had always been something about her that he didn't fully trust. She was on there side, she believed in the same ideals that they did, freedom and fairness. She just was more amoral than there rest of them. He knew she would do whatever it took to achieve what she believed to be right. He had found that unnerving and a little reassuring. Now he hatred it. "I'll listen, if you answer my question. why did you go behind me back."

"You're not angry about that." She dropped her arm. Now trusting him not to go after Long Feng, at least not yet. Her words had taken him completely by surprise. He had expected her to, if she was going to point out his Hippocratic actions, that she would say that he wouldn't have listened to her. He would just have done what he wanted so why shouldn't see. He didn't see what she said coming. Feeling his confusion, Toph explained her last comment. "You are using this as a way to make it up to me, for leavening the way you did. You think this is what I would have wanted, to kill him, the man that killed Jet. You think that by doing what you think I would want to do, it's going to stop me being mad at you. He's not worth it. He has to live with what he did everyday, why should we and his family suffer too."

What she said made a lot sense, but there was more to it that than that. She was right though, no matter what else was going on, she was right about why he was doing what he was doing. He was doing it for her, to make her happy, or at the very least content. In the faint light he could see her eyes. They where determined, not in the unnatural way, but the way he was used to seeing them. There was also a pleading look, like she was asking him to understand because she had to do this. "I'm only going to say this to you one more time. I'm not mad, or angry with you. I don't hate you." Her voice was stronger than he had heard it in along time. He wasn't sure if he was right, but from what she had taught him, he felt from her heart rate that she was telling the truth. He had to try and find a way to believe what she was saying now, he just found it so hard to except. How could she not hate him, he just couldn't understand that. He should say something, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything about what she had just said. So he went back to the question he had been thinking about since the meeting in the earth kings throne room. "Why is this really so important to you, that he goes back to his family."

"To make up for his past mistakes, he is going to have to support his family. The family he left behind years ago. To make up for yours, you let me take the lead in this, and you are going to leave it like this. Your not going to go after him." Again she was right. He was going to let it go, because it was what she wanted, what would make her happy. That after all had been is goal, the reason he went all the way to Omashu to get her to come with him. He still didn't know what her reason was though, before he could ask she spoke again. "For mine I have to not let my angry get the better of me."

In a way she has answered his question. She wanted to let him go, turn the other check, because she felt she had let her anger control her, made her do things she regretted. He should have seen this before. Outside Henko's house, after she ran out. She had broken down a little. He should have seen that was what was motivating her now. Back then he had hoped that maybe she would open up to him, let out some of the pent up emotions she had locked away for so long. Then wasn't the time, but maybe now was. "You mean you are using this as a way to make up for what happened with Azula, and the man that killed your mother." He was trying to guild her to talk more about it.

"Yeah, I am and you are using it in the same way too. So don't get all high and mighty." Aang let out a faint sigh. It was always the same with Toph. She would show a crack in the wall she built around her self for a second, than when it was pointed out she would fill in the crack. Like it was never there.

Something that Aang and had always been slightly aware of was finally confirmed, with a closer look at Toph's eyes. "You loved him didn't you. You would have stayed with him wouldn't you." He had known that there was strong feelings between Toph and Jet, that if things had been different. If they had the chance to spend more time together, they would only have become closer. He had never suspected till just now, how close they had really become.

"No and yes. I didn't love him, but I could have. If he..." Nearly five years later and she still couldn't say it. He wasn't going to push her to say any more, he had found out want he wanted to know. Not caring if she punched, kicked or earthbent at him, Aang took a step towards her. Closing the gap between them and wrapped his long arms around her shoulders. So she could only lifter her arms below the elbow. It took her a little while, but she finally did lift the lower part of her arms placing her hands on his shoulder blades.

The earth king would call the mission a failure. He would be more distrusting of Toph in the future. She was still one of a hand full of generals in the earth kingdom, so he still have to rely on her though. To Aang and Toph it was a success. They had sent the last four and a half years torturing themselves over things they had done in that past. Now they felt like that weight had been lifted from them. Aang also felt closer to his earthbening friend and hoped she felt the same way.

There was just one thing Aang had to do. Once they pulled apart, he untied the bracelet he had made her before he left form around his sash. "I really want you to have this back." He reached out for her right hand placing the bracelet in her hand, when she pulled it away.

"You have to prove that you really trust me, before I will take that back."

This was not how Aang had hoped this would go. He had imagined it going so differentially. At least it was better than what she had done to the letter he gave her. She hadn't even read it, she just let it go. She was right though, why did she need to read a letter explaining why he had left, that he left for her and the other four years ago in her room in Ba Sing Sa . "How do I do that." Aang was sure that he saw that familiar evil grin creeping across her face. She took his hand and pulled him back a few paces further into the cave.

She stood with his hand in hers looking out at the exit from the cave and the high drop that went with it."We are going to exit the cave of two lovers, my way without you using any bending." It finally dawned on Aang what she was planning, he really should have seen this coming. "Ready." Before he had time to think, or speak they where running towards the exit, and a fifth-teen foot drop.

To his surprise he found that his legs were moving without him telling them too. They were even moving faster than Toph's. After a while he was the one that was taking the lead, pulling Toph along with him. When they finally reached the opening in the cave, they both gave themselves one final push with there legs before they were in the air falling.

He saw the ground getting closer. From what he saw Toph wasn't doing anything, she was just falling through the air like he was. He clenched his eyes, and waited for the hit he knew was coming. Part of him wanted to bend the air around them, land them safely on the earth. The other part wondered if this was really a test of hers. She wanted to know if he trusted her enough to let himself and her get hurt, because she told him to. His hold on her hand became tighter, as he braced himself for the impact.

He felt his legs sink into the ground, then felt his body rise up a inch or so. There was no pain like he expected. "That was fun." He opened his eyes and turned to look at Toph. she now had a small genuine smile on her face, he hadn't seen that in a long time. When they had been about four foot from the ground, she hand held her left hand out, palm facing down towards the ground. She then quickly moved her hand round in a circler movement, softening the earth they would land on. He realised the tension in his still clenched left hand, that was still holding tightly to the grand master earthbender bracelet. He didn't give her the chance to pull away this time. He let her left hand go and took hold of her right wrist tying the bracelet around it. She moved her left hand over the jade pendent, like she making sure it was the same bracelet.

"So how do you feel about going to the northern air temple with me." Surprising him by how normal they acted, Toph's eyes that had been staring out towards the earth at her feet, shout up to met his. He almost lost track of what he had just said, as he was caught in her sightless gaze.

"Well... We need to get back to back to the village we left Appa and Momo at, and there is the guy that hurt his leg. I told them to wait at the village till I got there. I think we sound go to Omashu as well. Then we should go to the northern air temple. I haven't seen Zuko in a while either, so we should go see Katara after…"

"Ok I get it." He let out a faint sigh, as he tried to stop from smiling fully or laughing. There was something very funny and a little sweet about the way Toph would sometimes play up to the image most people had of her. Sweet, shy and childish. "Toph would you travel with me, like I asked you too over four years ago. Then messed up." He know his formal tone could wind her up, but it also could make her laugh. If she was in the right mood. The bowling was a very risky move though.

Toph crossed her arms, shifting her weight more onto her right leg. The smile the was trying to creep across her face though, let him know he wasn't in any intimidate danger of being hurt. "You don't even have to ask Twinkle toes."

He really didn't, he always knew deep down that she would agree to come with him. Maybe though he just couldn't imagine her saying no. not wanting to was any more time, Aang started to half run ahead of Toph, leading the way back to the village. After a little while, it finally dawned on him how far it really was to the village. Rather than stopping completely he began to slow down gradually, till he was walking at the same pace as Toph. He glanced over at her, and saw her biting her lower lip to stop herself from laughing at his slow running. "Don't laugh." That was all it took for her to lose control and burst out laughing. His voice had sounded to serious, yet his movement felt so funny and his heart was racing so fast from embarrassment, what else could she do but laugh.

Rather than annoying him, her laughter was a comforting. It reminded him of when he had first seen her, and when he first met her. It was nice to know that she could still laugh like that, like a child with no problems. Hearing it made him feel like he was twelve years old again surround by firiends, no matter what else was going on around them.

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**That is the second last chapter in this part of the story. The ending wasn't that good the first time, so I'm going to add another chapter to give it a better ending. I also realised that I had forgotten to have them go back to get Appa and Momo, as well as the guy that hurt his leg, they would have been waiting there for ages. No wonder he dose what he dose the next time he is in the story. I hope you liked the chapter, not the best but I still hope its was ok. Please review and let me know what you thing, thanks. **


	10. Chapter 10

The sun had only just recently fully risen into the sky, as Aang and Toph made their way along the wide wooden corridor of the inn. They had stayed the night in the inn, it was the same one they had stayed in the night before. Unfortunately they had arrived late in the evening so there was only one room left. The fact that the room Aang and previously stayed in was now taken up by the man that had hurt his leg and his friend, had also contributed to the room sharing. To Aang's surprise Toph hadn't reacted to badly to the situation, she had made him sleep on the floor under the open window though. It was for this reason that Aang was now walking down the corridor rubbing his back. At first Toph had ignored him, but now it was starting to irritate her.

"Would you stop doing that. The person we are going to see has a broken leg."

Aang almost spun round to look at Toph. "You said it wasn't broken. You lied."

Toph let out a faint sigh. "I didn't lie. I simply held back some information for his own good."

"Still sound like lying to me." Aang was now slowly starting to stretch his back, making a big deal of it hurting.

"You are such a wimp." Aang turned to look at her and defend himself, but she spoke again. "To think I was starting to think you were stronger, tougher now."

Like any male, Aang was greatly interested in what Toph had just said. "You think I'm tou..."

"No I thought you might be, but I guess I was wrong. It was just the way you stood in front of me, to stop me from getting hit by that bolder. You stood your ground, you didn't let it move you even a little. You were like a real earthbender. I was impressed."

"Really."

"Not any more though." Feeling like he had nothing to lose, Aang started to rub his sore back again. "It's your own fault, I told you to use the sleeping bag." While they had been walking Toph had been trying to tie her hair back in a braid but soon gave up as it kept coming undone.

"I could have slept with the blanket on top of the covers on the bed, if you would have let me." Realising that his voice had gotten louder as he spoke and that the people in the rooms they were walking past had most likely heard his outburst, cased the avatar to lower his head as he turned a deep shade of red.

Toph fought back the laughter that was fighting to escape from her lips. She folded her arms tightly across her chest to give her something else to focus on. When she trusted herself to talk again, she made special effort to keep her voice even. "I may not look or act like it, but I am still a lady of noble birth. It is bad enough that I had to share a room with you, I am not going to share a bed with you as well."

Taking his eyes off the wooden floor he walked along, Aang let them drift up. Looking at Toph completely from her feet, clad in brown boots to the top of her head covered in long black hair. In contrast to what she had just said, she did look like a noble lady. Her clothes the green light long robe, wore over brown trousers ticked into brown boots as a wall against the world around her, were simple and practical yes, but the robe had a small silver embroidered pattern around the high neckline and cuffs. Making it stand out as being more than a simple robe. She of course had probable found it in the wardrobe in her room at Omashu, like most of her clothes it would be provided for her by the earth king, Bumi or Zuko if she was in the fire nation. So she didn't choose to ware detailed expensive clothes, but she did. Coupled with the way she held herself, walking with her head held high, stepping very lightly singled her out as being a true lady. No matter what she did, the inherent grace and air around her would never go. He would tell her this, but he didn't know how to say it properly. He also didn't want to argue with her any more than he was already, by telling her that she was wrong.

When they finally reached the end of the corridor, Toph turned to face the last door on the right. She was about to reach out to knock the door, when she turned to face Aang on her left. "I'm just going to check his leg over. You can go to the stable to get Appa ready, I won't be long."

"No, I'll stay with you." Toph just gave a subtle shrug before she knocked the door. Aang bit his lower lip a little, cursing himself again for his outburst. He didn't know why he had panicked when she said she would go on her own.  
He wasn't worried about her, she could handle herself perfectly well, plus the two men they were going to see were no threat at all. One of them had a broken leg, for crying out loud. He wasn't jealous either, he really wasn't. Sure the one with the broken leg had called her an angel, earth angel to be more accurate. A name he knew was more to do with her herbalist skills than her looks, but still. He wasn't jealous that he might like Toph in that way, he wasn't jealous that Jet and the Duke had liked her like that. He was most defiantly not jealous, at least not about that. He was a little jealous because as horrible as it was to admit, he thought of Toph as being his in a way. She was his friend, his teacher surely he was aloud to think of her being his a little. He thought of the rest of their friends in that way as well, not so much now that they had paired off a little over the years though. He felt he belonged a little to them too. He guessed he felt this way because he had never had anything that was just his in his life, so his friends were very important to him. He liked to think of them as a family, but he realised he would have to start to change his way of think as they started to grow up, and created little family's of their own.

Aang was pulled from his thought, by Toph digging her elbow into his ribs. "Ouch, that hurt." He looked at Toph, who was shouting him a be quite or I will hurt you even more glare. In the time he had been lost in his own thoughts, the door had been opened, the friend of the man with the broken leg had asked Toph how she was, then turned to ask Aang the same thing. Which he never heard, therefore respond to, which was what led to the elbow in the rips. She let out a faint sigh, took hold of the sleeve of his robe and pulled him into the room with her. Once inside she released his robe and moved over to the bed in the centre of the room. Aang folded his arms and leaned against the door frame.

When she reached the head of the bed, Toph reached out and placed her hand on the man in the beds forehead. "Your fevers gone, hows your leg."

From the second she entered the room, than man in the bad hadn't taken his eyes of her. "A little sore, but not to bad." He was now looking right up at her, right into her eyes. Aang found himself tensing up a little at this.

"I'm just going to check it over before we go." Aang saw a look of slight disappointment on the man's face as she said that. He felt bad, but he did take some pleasure in that. His hurt leg was on top of the covers resting on a pillow, so Toph simple took a few steps along the bed to reach the broken part of his leg. Her hands were held out hovering a inch or less above the area below his knee. After a couple of seconds her hands lowered resting on his leg. "There is apart of the bone that hasn't started to fuse back into place. I can but it back in place now, but I don't have any more pain medicine left." She may not have been able to see the look of fear on his face, but she could just feel that it was there. "I won't hurt as much as the last time. I promise. Just hold my hand as hard as you have to like before." Her right hand was the closest one to him, so that was the one she held out to him to hold. He lifted his hand to take hers, but pulled it back a little. He saw the four small scabs on the palm of her hand, he knew that he had done that the last time he held her hand. He didn't want to hurt her again. Again Toph felt clearly what he was feeling through the faint vibration she felt from her hand on his leg. "Its ok."

She didn't need to say any more than that, it was her tone that let him know she was telling the truth. He quickly reached out and took hold of her hand. Aang however couldn't help but let a faint smile cross his face. The memory of Toph tell him not long ago that she had lied or kept it from him for his own good, came to his mind.

Like the first time to Aang and the other man it didn't look like Toph was really doing anything. The look of discomfort on the man's face was the only telling sign like before. After a few seconds, Toph let out a deep sigh as she lifted her left hand from the man's leg. "How dose it feel now." Aang noticed she was taking in a lot of small breathes as she tried to keep up with her lungs demand for air. It seemed like he was the only one that noticed this, he pushed himself off the door frame to go and see if she was ok. It was then that he looked at her again, she seemed to have her breathing back under control. His head lowered to the floor and he realised her must have be able to pick up on her breathing because he was feeling her vibrations faintly through the floor.

"Much better, thank you. You really are an angel."

"I'm no angel." Toph gave a forced smile towards the head of the bed. It was at this point that everyone in the room was made aware of the fact that the man in the bed was still holding Toph's hand. He didn't let go if it right away, he gave it a tight squeeze first. Aang's eyes were now on Toph, she looked a like uncomfortable. Like she wanted to move as far away from the man as possible. "Rest for a couple more days, then try and put some weight on it. If that's ok then you can..." It just dawned of Toph that she had no idea what these men were doing in the earth kingdom or anything about them. "Carry on with what you were doing." It was a stupid thing to say, but it was the safest thing to say with the limited information she had.

She gave a small nod with her head before she moved away from the bed and towards the door. "If you ever wanted to catch up, my name is Uragiri. It means betrayal." Toph was now at the foot of the bed, Aang saw her mouth open a little to say something, but nothing came out.

"Ignore him. He is always saying that to pretty girls. He thinks it makes him seem dangerous and interesting." The other man, how had been standing by the window, like Aang tacking in all that was going on. He had been looking at Toph while he spoke, but he now turned to his friend. "And it really doesn't."

"My name is Toph, as you know. It means supported lotus. That doesn't mean that I am delicate and need to be looked after...and I'm afraid your friend's right, it doesn't make you seem dangerous or interesting." Aang lowered his head, so no one would see him biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. There was no one he knew that could deliver a subtle put down the way Toph could. In her own way she had told him that she was not interested in him in that way, and to soften the blow letting him know that it was more to do with her than it was him. "We better get going now." She had now walked round to stand next to Aang. As he moved out of the room after her, Aang took one last glance around the room, giving a self satisfied smile to the two men. "Take it easy on the leg. See you around."

The smile on Aang's face was now a grin. He couldn't help it, he had been stupid. Sure Uragiri may like her, and made attempt at telling her, but he never got any were. He was really nothing to her, he was something to her though, her friend. At the end of the day he was the one she was leaving with, they were a we. A feeling of guilt started to build up in the airbenders stomach, whipping away the smile. If she knew how he thought of her and the rest of the group as belonging to him, and him to them, he knew she wouldn't be pleased. He also felt guilty because when he figured out that if Jet had lived Toph probably would have stayed with him. Leaving him and the others, he felt a little glad that she had ended up staying with them. Making him feel like he was glad Jet had died in a way. Which he wasn't. He just wanted to keep his friends together. He had also just been pleased that Toph had no interested in the seemingly nice man that liked her. He didn't like her like that, and he didn't want to. He knew she didn't like him like that, and didn't want her too. He just wanted her to stay with him, as a friend a travelling companion. Everyone else had gone off, he felt like she was the last one left. Did this mean when she liked some other guy like she liked Jet, and he of course like her, he wouldn't be happy for her like he should.

"Aang...did you hear me, Aang." She once again got his attention by elbowing him in the ribs.

"That hurt." Aang once again started to rub his sore side.

"Don't you dare start that again. It can't hurt that bad." Her eyes had now locked onto where is face was, as she turned to face him with her are crossed looking annoyed.

He couldn't help himself. He made a big fuss of rubbing his sore side and still sore back. "It dose hurt, but I bet I could still beat you to the stables." he held out is free hand, the left one still rubbing his back. Slowly Toph lifted her hand to take his. Just before she was about to reach it, he pulled his hand away and started to run along the corridor.

"That's cheating...twinkle toes, get back here." Not waiting long Toph ran off after him.

Aang turned his head around to look at her running after him. "Come on, you are slower..." He never got to finish is taunt. As he feel to the ground mid-sentence.

Toph had been while Aang was thinking of what to say to her to taunt her, had held her arms out in-front of her. Then when he had turned his head back, she pulled her arms back into her chest, causing the floor board that had been bent to knocking into his ankles, knocking him over. Toph was now standing next to Aang as he lay on the floor, her hand resting on her knees as she bent down a little towards him. "I may not be able to bend wood, but there are metal nails keeping the floor boards together."

Aang had now pulled himself onto his elbows, and was looking up at Toph as she looked down at him gloating. "Are you going to help me up." He held his hand up to her. Toph pulled herself up, so she was standing at her full hight, arms again crossed. There was a look of uncertainty on her face. She didn't know if she should trust him or not. "You can trust me. I'm not going to pull you down on to a hard wooden floor." She hesitated for another second or so, before letting out a sign and holding out her hand to take his. Toph was a little stronger than Aang expected, this coupled with the efforts he put into helping her pull him up caused him to be pulled forward into her. Toph had to move her right leg back to keep her balance and stop the force of Aang falling forward.

There faces were only an inch or so apart. Aang's eyes met her and for the second time he got lost in their unique colour. Toph straightened herself up, forcing him back a little, but he still kept his eyes on her. A grin slowly crept across her face, as she took two small steps to her right. Like she figured would happen, Aang followed her lead. The grin now took over face, as she turned on her heels and bolted along the corridor. Knowing Aang seemed to be taken a little aback by the closeness and her unusual eyes, she took the opportunity to get a head start on him, there was no way she was going to go down without a fight, not even if it was a silly bet.

It took Aang a few seconds to process what had just happened. Giving his head a small shake and letting out a faint laugh, he took off after her knowing for sure he wasn't going to be able to catch up to her. Another thing he knew for sure was that wherever they went things were never going to be boring with Toph travelling with him.

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**Thank you so much for reading and for the reviews. I hope you liked this chapter and as its the last chapter in his story, I hope you liked the story as well. Like always any comment good or bad are very welcome. **

**The next part of the story, part 9 is going to be about Aang taking on a airbending student. This will be the second of the five new parts I am adding to the story. So I have a idea of what I am going to do with the story. I have how it started and ends planed out, and a few ideas for chapters in-between. But I would love to know if you have any ideas for training techniques or anything like that. It would help to fill in the story. **


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